Category Archives: Self-Help Services

LSC TIG Conference, the Website Assessment and Portals

Posted on November 26, 2016 by richardzorza

LSC has announced its January 2017 TIG Conference. The draft agenda is here. While there is much of great interest, I would just like to point out that one very good reason for many, including particularly those involved in websites … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, LSC, Self-Help Services, Technology | Comments Off on LSC TIG Conference, the Website Assessment and Portals

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

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

We Now Have the Data That shows That The One-Side-Self-Represented Case is the Dominant Case Situation in US Civil State Courts and That We Need a Fundamental Rethink of The State Civil Justice System

Posted on August 26, 2016 by richardzorza

Some data from NCSC should be helpful in relating access to justice strategy to overall legal system changes. This is because this data simply blows away the way we think about the courts. The dominant analytic mode has always been … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Attorney-Client, Self-Help Services, SRL Statistics, Systematic Change | 3 Comments

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

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

Fascinating Parallel Between Rule Against Diagnosis Without Examination By Psychiatrists and Legal Information/Judgement Distinction

Posted on August 9, 2016 by richardzorza

Here is the link to the recent statement by the American Psychiatric Association President drawing attention to the so-called “Goldwater Rule”: On occasion psychiatrists are asked for an opinion about an individual who is in the light of public attention … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal Ethics, Self-Help Services | 1 Comment

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

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

Employee Orientation Is Where Access-Focused-Institutions Might Start

Posted on May 24, 2016 by richardzorza

How does a court or other legal institution refocus itself to ensure that its mission and day to day activities are turned towards serving the litigants, rather than towards maintaining the primary focus on the interests of the institution. Surely … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Management, Medical System Comparision, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on Employee Orientation Is Where Access-Focused-Institutions Might Start

Find and Join The Patient Council at Your Hospital — a Way to Learn About User-Centered Organizations

Posted on May 20, 2016 by richardzorza

Following up on Department of Justice Access to Justice Director Lisa Foster’s recent speech, and my video on “The Litigant Voice,” I had an idea about how we can all start to think about, in Lisa Foster’s words: What if … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Court Management, Litigant Voice, Medical System Comparision, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on Find and Join The Patient Council at Your Hospital — a Way to Learn About User-Centered Organizations

Lisa Foster’s ATJ Commissions Meeting Speech Focuses on Big Changes

Posted on May 15, 2016 by richardzorza

Lisa Foster’s speech at the ATJ’s Commission focus not on the usual self-congratulation, but on the encourages big changes in focus and vision.  While I did not travel to Chicago for the Conference this year, just the text alone conveys … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Budget Issues, Chasm with Communities, Dept. of Justice, LAIR, Legal Aid, Litigant Voice, Media, Mediation, Medical System Comparision, Poverty, Reentry, Self-Help Services, Simplification, SRLN, Systematic Change, Technology, video, White House | Comments Off on Lisa Foster’s ATJ Commissions Meeting Speech Focuses on Big Changes

My Video on Five Ways to Incentivize Bar, Courts, Legal Tech and Nonprofits to Get Us to Access for All

Posted on May 12, 2016 by richardzorza

Here is my second short video, made initially for the SRLN day at the Equal Justice Conference.  This one lays out five ways to use the power and threat of regulation/deregulation, and other incentives such as the tax code, to … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, ABA, Access to Justice Boards, Bar Associations, Budget Issues, De-Regulation, Funding, Incnetives, Legal Aid, LSC, Middle Income, Mixed Model, Non-Lawyer Practice, Planning, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Software Developers, SRLN, Systematic Change, Tax Policy, Technology, video | 1 Comment