Category Archives: Research and Evalation

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

Integrating “Roles Beyond Lawyers” into Court Improvement Strategies

Posted on September 19, 2016 by richardzorza

A recent paper by Colleen F. Shanahan, Anna E. Carpenter and Alyx Mark makes a very important point that, as the abstract puts it: Access to justice interventions that provide a little representation, including nonlawyer representation and various forms of … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Counsel, Court Management, Non-Lawyer Practice, Referral Systems, Research and Evalation, Triage, Unbundling | 2 Comments

Getting ATJ Statistics Into Census Data Collection — The Eviction Example Highlighted on fivethirtyeight.com

Posted on September 15, 2016 by richardzorza

The wonderful fivethirtyeight.com, which many of us obsessively check multiple times a day for its magnificent (and frightening) election projection results, has just put up a very important article on the under-counting of the eviction problem.  The title tells it … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Census Bureau, Court Management, Evictions, Federal Agencies, Foreclosure, Housing, Outcome Measures, Poverty, Research and Evalation | 1 Comment

Article on Incentives in Access to Justice

Posted on September 12, 2016 by richardzorza

My paper on incentives in access to justice has now been published in the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics.  Here it is. Here is the full text of the abstract: Most of the current deregulation discussion focuses on permitting both … Continue reading →

Posted in ABA, Access to Counsel, Alternative Business Structures, Anti-Trust, Bar Associations, Medical System Comparision, Middle Income, Mixed Model, Non-Lawyer Practice, Outcome Measures, Planning, Political Support, Poverty, Pro Bono, Referral Systems, Research and Evalation, Rules Reform, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Systematic Change, Tax Policy, Technology | Comments Off on Article on Incentives in Access to Justice

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

Integrating the ABA Futures Report and the Justice For All Components

Posted on August 14, 2016 by richardzorza

Its finally here, the ABA Future of Legal Services Report. As expected, it covers a lot of ground, and is a lot to read. As an aid to speedy integration into other projects, I have prepared this table that compares … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, ABA, Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Generally, Alternative Business Structures, Attorney-Client, Bar Associations, Court Fees and Costs, Court Management, Document Assembly, E-filing, Incnetives, Law Schools, Legal Aid, Legal Ethics, LEP, Mediation, Middle Income, Mixed Model, Non-Lawyer Practice, Outcome Measures, Plain Language, Planning, Referral Systems, Research and Evalation, Rules Reform, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Systematic Change, Technology, Transparency, Triage, Unbundling | 2 Comments

With Nate Silver’s Election Prediction Launch a Couple of Days Ago, Its a Good Time to Think About Statistics, Predictions, Triage, and Education for Public Policy

Posted on July 5, 2016 by richardzorza

Nate’s 2016 polls-only prediction is that Clinton has an 77.6% chance of winning. For those of us who talk about how triage is critical, his methodology page is well worth some attention. It is highly sophisticated, and reminds us just … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget Issues, Funding, Medical System Comparision, Metrics, Outcome Measures, Public Education, Research and Evalation, Series: Outcome Measures, Systematic Change, Technology, Transparency, Triage | 1 Comment

Opportunities at the New Access to Justice Research Lab at Harvard Law

Posted on May 6, 2016 by richardzorza

A big step forward.  These wonderful job opportunities at the new Harvard Law Access to Justice Research Lab established by Jim Greiner.  This from Jim: The Access to Justice Lab is a startup effort, with sufficient funding in hand for … Continue reading →

Posted in Research and Evalation | Comments Off on Opportunities at the New Access to Justice Research Lab at Harvard Law

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

Study on Legal Service Providers in the UK Operating as Alternative Business Structures

Posted on April 6, 2016 by richardzorza

In the UK, there is now a system in which lawyers and non-lawyers can co-own and can have outside investors in legal service providing organizations.  They are called ABS (Alternative Business Structures handbook here).  A recent research report on pricing … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Business Structures, International Models, Metrics, Research and Evalation | Comments Off on Study on Legal Service Providers in the UK Operating as Alternative Business Structures

Outcome Measures #2: LSC Outcomes Measures, Good News, Bad News, and A Challenge

Posted on January 14, 2016 by richardzorza

This is number 2 in an occasional series on outcome measures.  Number 1 reiterated how important it is to develop and apply such measures system wide. There is good news and bad news on LSC outcome measures. The good news: … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, IOLTA, Legal Aid, LSC, Metrics, Outcome Measures, Research and Evalation, Series: Outcome Measures | Comments Off on Outcome Measures #2: LSC Outcomes Measures, Good News, Bad News, and A Challenge

Important Paper On Impact of Technology On Need For Lawyers May Answer One Question, But Ask Bigger Ones

Posted on January 8, 2016 by richardzorza

A recent New York Times article reports on a just drafted study on the potential impact on legal employment markets of the spread of technology. As explained in the Times: . . . [T]here are many human activities that cannot … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Attorney-Client, Bar Associations, Document Assembly, Metrics, Non-Lawyer Practice, Research and Evalation, Rules Reform, Simplification, Technology | Comments Off on Important Paper On Impact of Technology On Need For Lawyers May Answer One Question, But Ask Bigger Ones

The Need for Economic and Regulatory Incentives for Access to Justice

Posted on January 1, 2016 by richardzorza

I find it remarkable that there so few regulatory and economic incentives towards access to justice built into our system. It is now true that you have to do a certain number of pro bono hours to get to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Court Management, Outcome Measures, Research and Evalation, Systematic Change | 4 Comments

John Naughton In the Guardian Calls for Code of Ethics For Those Who Write Algorithms

Posted on December 7, 2015 by richardzorza

A fascinating article in the Guardian is of relevance to anyone who builds or uses technology in the justice system. After highlighting the range of decisions made by algorithms today, and their potential consequences, the writer, John Naughton, moves to … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Court Management, Metrics, Outcome Measures, Research and Evalation, Software Developers, Technology, Transparency, Triage | Comments Off on John Naughton In the Guardian Calls for Code of Ethics For Those Who Write Algorithms

What Do We Do With the Apparant Fact That People Who Beleive They Are More Creative Are More LIkely to Believe That They Are Entitled, and To Act Unethically?

Posted on November 26, 2015 by richardzorza

Richard Moohead wonderfully picks up on recent research on the relationship between creativity and entitlement. The research, reported in the Harvard Business Review, tested whether people who beleived that they were more creative were, for example, willing to lie for … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Legal Ethics, Research and Evalation | 1 Comment