Category Archives: Forms

100% Access to Justice Strategic Planning — a Forms Component Template

Posted on May 1, 2017 by richardzorza

The Justice for All Strategic Planing and Guidance, being used by the seven grantee states,  and others on a more informal basis, includes a number of key components. (List at page 5 in cover Memo.)  One of the most important … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Court Management, Forms | 4 Comments

SRLN Announces Forms Competition

Posted on March 24, 2017 by richardzorza

The SRLN Forms & Technology Working Group is holding its first ever Civil Legal Problems Forms Contest.  There are two categories in the competition: Best Static Form Best Automated Form This is a great opportunity to be part of an … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Document Assembly, Forms, SRLN | Comments Off on SRLN Announces Forms Competition

Wonderful Video on Self-Help Services Is a Tool to Ensure 100% Availability of this Key Service, and Introduces the Triage Concept

Posted on March 9, 2017 by richardzorza

The Justice of All Strategic Planning Guidance, issued last August, identifies a number of basic services which should be available to all if 100% access is to be provided.  Obviously one of the most critical is universally available self-help services. … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Forms, Funding, Self-Help Services, 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

New York Times Highlights Access to Justice, the Self-Represented, Technology and LawHelp Interactive

Posted on December 14, 2016 by richardzorza

In a recent Year of Big Ideas in Social Change piece, the Times highlights almost the full area of what we all do: Another example [of using tech to democratize] is civil legal aid. Even though people involved in civil … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Court Management, Document Assembly, expungement, Forms, Legal Aid, Technology | Comments Off on New York Times Highlights Access to Justice, the Self-Represented, Technology and LawHelp Interactive

DOJ and FTC Weigh In on Exempting Websites from the Practice of Law

Posted on November 4, 2016 by richardzorza

On June 16 of this year, North Carolina passed a law creating a limited carve-out from the definition of the practice of law for websites that met certain requirements.  The bill is here.  There has been robust critique of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Business Structures, Anti-Trust, Bar Associations, De-Regulation, Dept. of Justice, Document Assembly, Federal Agencies, Forms, Non-Lawyer Practice, Plain Language, Rules Reform, Technology | Comments Off on DOJ and FTC Weigh In on Exempting Websites from the Practice of Law

Important Research on Benefits of Plain Language Court Orders And Translation

Posted on November 4, 2016 by richardzorza

This research, funded under the LSC TIG program through a grant to TRLA, conducted in Austin, Texas, by NPC Research on the impact of plain language and translated court documents could be very helpful indeed. (Disclosure: I have been involved … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Forms, LEP, LSC, Outcome Measures, Plain Language, Self-Help Services, Technology | 2 Comments

Serving Self-Represented Litigants Remotely A Resource Guide Is a Must Read

Posted on September 23, 2016 by richardzorza

Serving Self-Represented Litigants Remotely A Resource Guide, prepared by a team led by John Greacen and including SRLN members from across the country, has just been published by SRLN.  It is a “Must Read,” to use a much over-used word.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Budget Issues, Court Management, Forms, Metrics, Remote Services, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services, SRLN, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage | Comments Off on Serving Self-Represented Litigants Remotely A Resource Guide Is a Must Read

A Blockbuster Recommendation In the ABA Futures Report Is for A National Commission on Uniform Court Forms

Posted on August 14, 2016 by richardzorza

The Recommendation, at page 46 , of the Report, reads as follows: “The ABA, the National Center for State Courts, the Conference of Chief Justices, and the Conference of State Court Administrators should collaborate to create a National Commission on … Continue reading →

Posted in ABA, Access to Justice Generally, Forms, Plain Language, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on A Blockbuster Recommendation In the ABA Futures Report Is for A National Commission on Uniform Court Forms

Great NYT Online Piece on “Legal Aid With A Digital Twist” Features Claudia Johnson, Law Help Interactive, and Others

Posted on June 1, 2016 by richardzorza

At last, the media is staring to “get” that legal aid is not just traditional advocacy. The Time’s Fixes has a piece on digital expungment, ATJ hackathons, our guest blogger Claudia Johnson, Law Help Interactive and more. The rise of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Consumer Rights, expungement, Foreclosure, Forms, Self-Help Services, Technology | Comments Off on Great NYT Online Piece on “Legal Aid With A Digital Twist” Features Claudia Johnson, Law Help Interactive, and Others

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

Richard Granat Proposes Safe Harbor for Law Firms Serving Low and Moderate Income Clients With Technology

Posted on December 4, 2015 by richardzorza

Richard Granat has recently made an interesting proposal to facilitate the use of technology to improve access to justice by loosening the law firm ownership rules for groups using automated solutions to serve low and middle income clients.  Specicially, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Forms, Middle Income, Self-Help Services, Technology | Comments Off on Richard Granat Proposes Safe Harbor for Law Firms Serving Low and Moderate Income Clients With Technology

The Risks of a Narrow Definition of Access to Justice

Posted on September 8, 2015 by richardzorza

There is up at the ABA.com “Rebel Lawyers” an article titled “Lawyers need to move beyond ‘access to justice’ to close the legal services gap.”  It is by Dan Lear, currently director of industry relations for Avvo. What it actually … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Document Assembly, Forms, Legal Aid, Middle Income, Mixed Model, Systematic Change, Technology, Unbundling | 1 Comment

New CCJ/COSCA Resolution on 100% Access, and How to Get There, Is a Tipping Point

Posted on August 11, 2015 by richardzorza

The week before last, the Conference of (state) Chief Justices, and the Conference of State Court Administrators jointly passed two Resolutions that together predict a tipping pint forward in moving to justice.  One sets an aspirational goal of 100% access … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Bar Associations, Communications Strategy, Court Management, Forms, Legal Aid, Mobile Technology, Outcome Measures, Political Support, Research and Evalation, Rules Reform, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage, Unbundling | 3 Comments

Reasons for Thirty Eight Percent Reduction in US Heart Attack Deaths in Ten Years Have Obvious and Detailed Implications for Access to Justice Reform

Posted on June 21, 2015 by richardzorza

It’s an amazing statistic: in just ten years, the US heart attack rate has been reduced by 38%, as reported in a wonderful and hightly suggestive article in the June 21, NYT, here. Perhaps most hopefully, in this week of … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Management, Forms, Legal Aid, Medical System Comparision, Mixed Model, Triage | 2 Comments