Category Archives: Legal Aid

A Challenge on Civil Advocacy Legal Aid Outcome Meaures

Posted on August 6, 2015 by richardzorza

While there is now general agreement that outcome measures for civil advocacy legal aid are a good idea, and that measures need to be different in different areas of substantive advocacy, it is apparently hard to get agreement on common … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal Aid, Medical System Comparision, Metrics, Outcome Measures, Research and Evalation | 1 Comment

ATJ Commissions Planning Survey Shows Energy, Common Directions and Interest in Multi-State Networking

Posted on July 29, 2015 by richardzorza

After the Access to Justice Commissions meeting this spring in Austin, the Commissions were invited to respond to a brief survey as to their interest in following up on the areas for possible initiatives that had been the focus of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Chasm with Communities, Communications Strategy, Court Fees and Costs, Funding, Legal Aid, Metrics, Planning, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Technology | 1 Comment

High Lifetime Chance of Being Poor Suggests a New Legal Aid/ATJ Funding Argument

Posted on July 26, 2015 by richardzorza

For decades we have been struggling with the fact that we think that many, perhaps most, people are resultant to fund legal aid, and particularly means-tested community-based legal aid because they think that it will never help them. (Incidentally, every … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget Issues, Communications Strategy, Legal Aid, Political Support, Poverty | 7 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

Every Community Should Have a Civil Justice Coordinator and Coordinating Council

Posted on June 13, 2015 by richardzorza

The New York City Council recently passed a bill to create an Office of Civil Justice Coordinator. The bill, which was co-sponsored by Councilman Mark Levine, would create an office within the Human Resources Administration and have a budget of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Bar Associations, Budget Issues, Legal Aid, Triage | Comments Off on Every Community Should Have a Civil Justice Coordinator and Coordinating Council

While Study On Greater Happiness of Nonprofit Lawyers Raises Methodological Questions, It Still Has Useful Lessons

Posted on May 13, 2015 by richardzorza

Its hard for some of us not to feel smug and self-satisfied when we see the following blog headline in the New York Times: Lawyers With Lowest Pay Report More Happiness. And its hard not to come to the conclusion … Continue reading →

Posted in Law Schools, Legal Aid, Research and Evalation, Vocation | Comments Off on While Study On Greater Happiness of Nonprofit Lawyers Raises Methodological Questions, It Still Has Useful Lessons

Building the ATJ Communication Capacity While Enhancing Public Awareness of Issues of Law and Poverty

Posted on March 11, 2015 by richardzorza

It occurred to me that the way that Voices for Civil Justice has responded to the recent Justice Department Report on Ferguson provides an opportunity to see how our access community is gaining in sophistication and effectiveness. Those who are … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications Strategy, Legal Aid | Comments Off on Building the ATJ Communication Capacity While Enhancing Public Awareness of Issues of Law and Poverty

ABA Commission on Future of Legal Services Comments — Now Due Dec 20 — Some Challenging Thoughts

Posted on December 6, 2014 by richardzorza

Update:  The comment period has been extended to Dec 20. +++++++++++++++++++++++ I should have blogged about this weeks ago.  But the due date of Dec 10 for comments on the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services has almost … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Attorney-Client, Legal Aid, Systematic Change | 1 Comment

What Might a National Expungement Strategy Look Like?

Posted on December 4, 2014 by richardzorza

There is now pretty wide bi-partisan and multi-regional agreement that we have to make the re-entry of the convicted into society much easier, and that expunging prior criminal records will be an important part of this initiative. While lots of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Criminal Law, Defender Programs, Dept. of Justice, expungement, Legal Aid, LEP | Comments Off on What Might a National Expungement Strategy Look Like?

Preparing for DAPA: A New Self-Help Need for Court and Community-Based Legal Aid

Posted on December 4, 2014 by richardzorza

The State Justice Institute has just distributed a memo on likely ways that the President’s Delayed Action for Parental Accountability program will result in requests for help to state courts.  The nub of the memo is here: The requirements for … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Court Management, Immigration, Legal Aid, Self-Help Services | 1 Comment

Some Observations on the Newly Updated Justice Index

Posted on November 27, 2014 by richardzorza

The National Center for Access to Justice recently put in place a number of corrections offered by 21 states to the Justice Index, so its time to take a look and see what we learn. The most important point is … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Generally, Forms, Justice Index, Legal Aid, LEP, Plain Language, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on Some Observations on the Newly Updated Justice Index

NYT Publishes First Article on Comprehensive Changes in Legal Aid (Broadly Defined)

Posted on November 24, 2014 by richardzorza

Showing the huge value and potential of a coherent communications strategy for the legal aid world (broadly defined to include both community-based and court-based legal aid) the New York Times on Saturday published its first real comprehensive article on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Communications Strategy, Legal Aid, LSC, Non-Lawyer Practice, Political Support, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change, Triage | Comments Off on NYT Publishes First Article on Comprehensive Changes in Legal Aid (Broadly Defined)

Part II of “Assessing Innovations” — A Rights Oriented Analysis

Posted on October 31, 2014 by richardzorza

A recent post discussed how to analyze the value of different approaches to access to justice in cost benefit terms.  This follow-up post takes a different approach, looking at the same issue — of how to decided whether to implement … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Budget Issues, Legal Aid, Non-Lawyer Practice, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage, Unbundling | 1 Comment

Roger Smith on Contrast Between British Columbia and UK Legal Aid Cuts Has Valuable Lessons

Posted on October 16, 2014 by richardzorza

I want to draw your attention to a blog post by the UK’s wonderful Roger Smith contrasting the BC and UK approach to cutting, and response to cuts in, legal aid budgets.  His essential point is that the BC cuts, … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Budget Issues, International Models, Legal Aid, LSC, Technology | 1 Comment

April 8 – Another Important Day for Access at the White House

Posted on April 9, 2014 by richardzorza

It’s becoming a wonderful tradition.  A White House Forum on Increasing Access to Justice, at which the administration’s commitment to access to justice is highlighted, hardworking partners are honored, and stakeholders get to network about future ideas. I plan to … Continue reading →

Posted in Dept. of Justice, Funding, Legal Aid, White House | 5 Comments