Category Archives: Family Law

What a Real Apology Takes

Posted on June 10, 2018 by richardzorza

PR folks have mastered the art of the “non-apology,” and we are all the worse for it. First of all, “I am sorry” is simply not an apology.  It is completely ambiguous, with two meanings that in context are often … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Family Law, Love, Personal, Social Workers | Comments Off on What a Real Apology Takes

My Wife Joan Zorza Honored by Boston College Law School For Her Domestic Violence Work

Posted on July 26, 2017 by richardzorza

As described in the Summer 2017 issue of BC Law, Joan was given one of the five Law Day awards this year by Boston College Law School for her lifetime of dedicated work in domestic violence and sexual assault.  She … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Violence, Family Law, Law Schools, Legal Aid, Personal, Vocation | 1 Comment

Google Home Hears Domestic Dispute and Calls Cops

Posted on July 8, 2017 by richardzorza

This is the stuff or dream and nightmare.  According to All That Is Interesting Dot Com, As reported by ABC News, New Mexico man Eduardo Barros was house-sitting at a home in Tijeras with his girlfriend and her daughter this … Continue reading →

Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Criminal Law, Domestic Violence, Family Law, Mobile Technology, Policing, Remote Services, Science, Security, Technology | 1 Comment

Google Home May Help Us Understand the Definition of “Legal Advice,” and Therefore of What Activities Falls Under Regulatory Authority.

Posted on July 6, 2017 by richardzorza

This is sort of fun. We have been struggling now for over two decades to find the most useful and access-expanding ways of explaining when an interaction is the giving of information, not generally subject of regulation as the practice … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Artificial Intelligence, Child Support, Document Assembly, Family Law, Legal Ethics, Non-Lawyer Practice, Plain Language, Public Education, Remote Services, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage | 1 Comment

The New HHS Child Support Regs Will Increase Child Support Payments and Strengthen the Argument for Expanded Self-Help Services

Posted on December 21, 2016 by richardzorza

There is additional good news in the new HHS Child Support regs, which are to be effective Jan 19, 2017 (analysis and link to full text of regs here).  They will increase payments to custodial parents, and they also strengthen … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Debt Collction, Document Assembly, Family Law, Federal Agencies, Forms, Funding, Non-Lawyer Practice, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on The New HHS Child Support Regs Will Increase Child Support Payments and Strengthen the Argument for Expanded Self-Help Services

Triage Should Guide Court Simplification and Non-Lawyer Role Expansion, Not the Other Way Round

Posted on September 11, 2016 by richardzorza

I think I may have been guilty of thinking about the relationship of triage, court simplification and expansion of non-lawyer roles the wrong way round. I have basically been saying something like this: For each case, we should do triage, … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Family Law, Non-Lawyer Practice, Referral Systems, Simplification, Systematic Change, Triage | 5 Comments

DOJ/NSF White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable Report on Access to Justice Research

Posted on September 7, 2016 by richardzorza

I have been much remiss in not blogging earlier about this important and very timely Report from the Department of Justice (NIJ and ATJ) and the National Science Foundation on Research in Access to Justice.  Formally titled White House Legal … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Consumer Rights, Dept. of Justice, expungement, Family Law, Foreclosure, LAIR, Legal Aid, Medical System Comparision, Non-Lawyer Practice, Outcome Measures, Reentry, Referral Systems, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on DOJ/NSF White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable Report on Access to Justice Research

Claudia Johnson Guest Post: Appellate Courts show willingness to reverse decisions where due process and decisions are not explained in SRL cases—Are DV cases the canary and a natural for innovation?

Posted on July 20, 2016 by richardzorza

Multiple decisions have come to my attention where appellate courts are reversing trial courts on cases where one of the parties did not have a lawyer. All cases come from Domestic  Violence dockets. Is this a new trend for DV … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Appellate Practice, Document Assembly, Domestic Violence, Family Law, Guest Bloggers, Judicial Ethics, Self-Help Services | 1 Comment

Council of Economic Advisors Report on Costs and Benefits of Incarceration Versus Other Approaches Incudes Excellent Arguments for Broader Impact of Access to Civil Justice

Posted on April 29, 2016 by richardzorza

When the White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) speaks, the world listens. And, indeed, when the CEA issued Economic Perspectives on Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System, it was a very big deal. What was unusual was that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Budget Issues, Chasm with Communities, Criminal Law, expungement, Family Law, Legal Aid, Outcome Measures, Poverty, Research and Evalation, Science, White House | 3 Comments

UK Court Divorce Software Made Obvious Math Errors, Not Noticed For Almost 20 Months, Till Nonlawyer Caught it

Posted on December 17, 2015 by richardzorza

The Guardian has a story that should cause terror to those who design legal software without properly testing it, as well as those who say we have to limit practice to fully trained lawyers. As the Guardian reports, the online … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Law, Forms, Non-Lawyer Practice, Simplification, Technology | 4 Comments

Love’s Promises — Wonderful Book on Shaping Marriage and Family To Reflect Choice

Posted on July 11, 2015 by richardzorza

Everyone in the access to justice community knows Karen Lash as a dedicated and brilliant deputy director of the DOJ ATJ Office. Now she may be about to be even better known as the loving and loved family member portrayed … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Law, LGBT, Love, Self-Help Services | 3 Comments