Category Archives: Research and Evalation

Becky Sandefur is a MacArthur!!!

Posted on October 5, 2018 by richardzorza

What wonderful news to wake up to! Becky Sandefur, one of the smartest, gentlest and most beloved contributors to our network has just gotten a MacArthur. Her work has already reshaped our field, initially by demonstrating beyond doubt the utterly … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Research and Evalation | Comments Off on Becky Sandefur is a MacArthur!!!

Simply Brilliant — Florida Bar Foundation and SRLN Maps Show Hurricane Impacts and Legal Vulnerability

Posted on November 9, 2017 by richardzorza

I do not think of myself as someone who “gushes” about every innovation, but this is so wonderful. If you were ever skeptical about the value of mapping and GIS for access to justice, just look at these and change … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Census Bureau, Legal Aid, Mapping/GIS, Research and Evalation, SRLN, Technology | Comments Off on Simply Brilliant — Florida Bar Foundation and SRLN Maps Show Hurricane Impacts and Legal Vulnerability

Illinois Strategic Plan Combines Principles, Initiatives, and Success Measures

Posted on July 2, 2017 by richardzorza

The superb new strategic plan from the Illinois Access to Justice Commission is a model in may ways.  I want, however, to emphasize one, its structure.  This approach gives them, and us, a strong and effective document that will serve … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy, Court Management, Outcome Measures, Plain Language, Planning, Research and Evalation, Rules Reform, Self-Help Services, Simplification | Comments Off on Illinois Strategic Plan Combines Principles, Initiatives, and Success Measures

Opportunity To Suggest Improvements to Washington State Access to Justice Principles

Posted on June 20, 2017 by richardzorza

I was the consultant to the Washington State Access to Justice Principles back in the early days of this century. Now a process is underway to update and improve those principles, which were issued by the State Supreme Court in … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Remote Services, Research and Evalation, Science, Security, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage, Usabilty | Comments Off on Opportunity To Suggest Improvements to Washington State Access to Justice Principles

Job Opportunity at Harvard Law Access to Justice Lab

Posted on May 28, 2017 by richardzorza

As many of you know, the Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School is an initiative to try to further evidence-based thinking within access to justice and court administration. It focuses on conducting randomized field experiments to find out … Continue reading →

Posted in Law Schools, Metrics, Outcome Measures, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on Job Opportunity at Harvard Law Access to Justice Lab

Towards A Principles-Driven Approach to Algorithm-Based Decision-Making in the Justice System

Posted on May 1, 2017 by richardzorza

A very recent article by Adam Liptak in the New York Times draws attention to the actual practice in Wisconsin of using algorithm-driven predictions in sentencing, and to the pending attempt to otbain review of the practice by the US … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Criminal Law, Discrimination, Research and Evalation, Security, Technology, Transparency | 2 Comments

National Academy Report On Need for Strategy to Understand Impact of Technology on Economy and Employment Suggests Need to Go Further

Posted on April 17, 2017 by richardzorza

As reported in the New York Times, and elaborated in Nature, a panel of the National Academies has called for a national approach to data to understand and manage the impact of technology on the economy and jobs.  As Nature … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Court Management, Document Assembly, Non-Lawyer Practice, Research and Evalation, Science, Simplification, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage | Comments Off on National Academy Report On Need for Strategy to Understand Impact of Technology on Economy and Employment Suggests Need to Go Further

Another “Roles Beyond Lawyers” Evaluation Adds To the Very Encouraging Mosaic and Highlights Need For Replication Support

Posted on March 23, 2017 by richardzorza

This week, the Preliminary Evaluation of the Washington State Limited License Legal Technician (LLLT) program, performed by the National Center for State Courts and the American Bar Foundation, was released.  The basic idea of the program is to permit certain … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Bar Associations, Court Management, De-Regulation, Law Schools, Legal Aid, Legal Ethics, Mixed Model, Non-Lawyer Practice, Public Welfare Foundation, Research and Evalation, Systematic Change, Triage | 1 Comment

A Tool For Assessing SRL Hearing Quality from the US Dept. of Labor

Posted on March 18, 2017 by richardzorza

As state start to think about evaluating how their judges do in cases without lawyers, this might be a useful starting point.  It is US Department of Labor Handbook on measuring hearing quality in unemployment hearings (in which the vast … Continue reading →

Posted in Administative Proecdure, Judicial Ethics, Metrics, Research and Evalation | 1 Comment

Cop House Lawyers Ordered In Chicago

Posted on March 14, 2017 by richardzorza

This could be the begining of a major change.  As few outside the criminal justice system know, in the US most people without resources do not get to talk to a lawyer until shortly before they see a judge. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Bail, Chasm with Communities, Criminal Law, Defender Programs, Policing, Public Defender, Research and Evalation | Comments Off on Cop House Lawyers Ordered In Chicago

The First “Roles Beyond Lawyers” Full Evaluation Report Moves Us to a Whole New Stage of Expanding the Use of Nonlawyers

Posted on December 14, 2016 by richardzorza

The Public Welfare Foundation,  American Bar Foundation and the National Center for State Courts have just released their report on the “Roles Beyond Lawyers” Navigators program in New York.  Its finding of positive impacts from all three of the pilot … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Non-Lawyer Practice, Research and Evalation, Rules Reform, Self-Help Services, Social Workers | 2 Comments

How to Compare the Appropriateness of Potential ATJ Indicators

Posted on December 4, 2016 by richardzorza

David Udell has challenged me to identify, from the recent indicators report, some of the “best indicators.”  Before I even think about doing that, I have tried to identify eleven criteria for a perfect indicator. The data is already being … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Funding, Justice Index, Outcome Measures, Research and Evalation, Series: Outcome Measures, SRL Statistics | Comments Off on How to Compare the Appropriateness of Potential ATJ Indicators

Report on Symposium on Indicators — A Process That Will Go On

Posted on December 3, 2016 by richardzorza

Back abut a thousand years ago, on September 15, 2016, an important Symposium on indicators was organized by Risa Kaufman and David Udell.  They jointly blogged about it yesterday: On September 15, 2016, access to justice experts from the academic … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Dept. of Justice, Federal Agencies, Justice Index, Metrics, Outcome Measures, Research and Evalation, SRL Statistics | Comments Off on Report on Symposium on Indicators — A Process That Will Go On

A Confession and a Manifesto for Client/Litigant Driven Outcome Measures in Access to Justice

Posted on November 27, 2016 by richardzorza

As a patient, I would be outraged by the idea that medical professionals alone (link to 2001 paper) should decide the outcome measures that would be used to decide the benefit and utility of medical innovations. But, without a squeak of … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Court Management, LSC, Medical System Comparision, Metrics, Outcome Measures, Research and Evalation, Series: Outcome Measures | 2 Comments

LSC Releases RFP for Portal Project

Posted on November 23, 2016 by richardzorza

This may be a historic month for 100% access to justice. LSC has now released the RFP, with proposals due Jan 19, for the portal project.  After some extracts, I offer below some thoughts that may be helpful. I think … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Bar Associations, Funding, Litigant Voice, Medical System Comparision, Metrics, Planning, Remote Services, Research and Evalation, Technology, Triage | 3 Comments