Category Archives: Simplification

Guest Blog on Australian Tribunal that Use Administrative Agency Approach In Many Traditionally Judicial Areas

Posted on August 23, 2013 by richardzorza

After meeting Julie Grainger, a member of the Victorian (Australia) Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), I asked her to describe for this blog how the Tribunal works.  Its uses more of an administrative agency type approach in many substantive areas … Continue reading →

Posted in Administative Proecdure, Simplification, Systematic Change | Tagged , | Comments Off on Guest Blog on Australian Tribunal that Use Administrative Agency Approach In Many Traditionally Judicial Areas

Professor in Nederlands On Strategies for Access Change

Posted on June 17, 2013 by richardzorza

I am just back from the International Legal Aid Group meeting in the Nederlands.  While I plan to share several ideas from the meeting, I want to start with some overall strategic thoughts from Prof. Maurits Barendrecht of HiiL/Tilburg University. … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Funding, Legal Aid, Simplification, Systematic Change | 2 Comments

My Simplification Paper Now Out

Posted on June 12, 2013 by richardzorza

Just posted — my Drake Law Review paper on simplification: Some First Thoughts on Court Simplification: The Key to Civil Access and Justice Transformation. Here is the abstract: Given the discrepancy between access to justice needs and the resources that … Continue reading →

Posted in Simplification, Systematic Change | 9 Comments

National Center for State Courts Strategic Campaign Prioritizes Access to Justice and Sets Rules Simplification as Objective

Posted on May 12, 2013 by richardzorza

This is great news. The National Center for State Courts Board has just approved its Strategic Campaign for 2013-2016, and, under the title Solutions for Enhancing Access to Justice for All, it includes as one of its four key elements … Continue reading →

Posted in Rules Reform, Simplification, Systematic Change | 1 Comment

Towards a New Accss-Friendly Rules Project

Posted on May 9, 2013 by richardzorza

Here is a potentially transformative idea that I raised at the recent Symposium at Harvard Law School on Civil Gideon. Maybe it is time to rethink the Federal Rules Project. Back when the Federal Rules were first being put in … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Court Management, Simplification | 1 Comment

Thoughts from the Canadian Envisioning Equal Justice Summit — Parallel Paths to Innovation and Access

Posted on April 30, 2013 by richardzorza

I am just back from Vancouver and the Canadian Bar Association Envisioning Equal Justice Summit.  My main conclusion is that the Canadians and the US are now on very similar and potentially supportive paths. The Summit was brought together to … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, International Cooperation, Simplification, Technology, Triage | Tagged | 2 Comments

Interesting Simplifiation/Right to Counsel Argument from Justice Sotamayor in Immigration Case

Posted on April 24, 2013 by richardzorza

Yesterdays immigration opinion, MONCRIEFFE v. HOLDER, from the Supreme Court, holding possession of small amounts of marijuana outside the definition of “aggravated felony” ineligible for discretionary relief from deportation, contains an interesting nugget for possible citation in simplification and right … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Immigration, Simplification, Supreme Court | Comments Off on Interesting Simplifiation/Right to Counsel Argument from Justice Sotamayor in Immigration Case

Report on Colorado Simplified Process Rule Option

Posted on March 29, 2013 by richardzorza

In 2004 Colorado put in place statewide a Rule 6.1 permitting the parties to use a simplified trial process in certain relatively low-stake cases. A report on this experiment is now available here, and it is reported on in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Research and Evalation, Simplification | Comments Off on Report on Colorado Simplified Process Rule Option

Canadian Court Rules Subcommittee Report Advocates Review of Rules from Point of View of the Self-Represented

Posted on November 18, 2012 by richardzorza

The Canadian Federal Court Rules Committee Subcommittee on Global Review of the Federal Courts Rules makes an interesting recommendation: The Rules Committee should assess all existing rules from the standpoint of access to justice, particularly by self-represented parties, with a … Continue reading →

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Maybe These Poster Proposals from SRLN Will Stimulate Ideas

Posted on November 13, 2012 by richardzorza

As I have previously blogged, this Friday is the deadline for Poster Proposals for the open gathering in Chicago on Research into Access to Justice to be held on December 7.  Proposals should be sent to A2Jworkshop@abfn.org by Friday, November … Continue reading →

Posted in Research and Evalation, Simplification, SRL Statistics, Triage | 2 Comments

A Pulitzer for Nate Silver?

Posted on November 6, 2012 by richardzorza

I have long been a fan of Nate Silver’s election prediction blog, now part of the New York Times. I now realize that his use of statistical modeling has changed, at least among leadership and policy elites, our ability to … Continue reading →

Posted in Research and Evalation, Simplification, Triage | Comments Off on A Pulitzer for Nate Silver?

Court Simplification Working Paper from SRLN

Posted on October 30, 2012 by richardzorza

The Self-Represented Litigation Network has completed its Working Paper titled Towards Simplification. The document, more a road-map than a proposal, outlines seven principles for simplification, six approaches, four barriers and political issues, and nine possible strategies.  The document is here.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Simplification, Systematic Change | 2 Comments

Did You Know Court Forms are a Funny Topic?

Posted on June 21, 2012 by richardzorza

I read, and got permission to post, this hysterical article from the Austin Lawyer. Entre Nous  —  Family Form Foes Fight Fiercely By Claude Ducloux, Hill, Ducloux, Carnes & de la Garza As a board-certified bar groupie who, by virtue … Continue reading →

Posted in Forms, Simplification | 1 Comment

Important Step Forward with Washington State Legal Technician Rule

Posted on June 19, 2012 by richardzorza

Lots of us have been watching this long-standing but very important saga. The Washington State Supreme Court has now by Order approved a Rule generally permitting non-lawyer legal technicians.  The Order does not itself authorize specific areas of legal technician … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal Ethics, Simplification, Systematic Change | 9 Comments

More on the Turner v. Rogers Anniversary Forum — DC In Person and Streaming Seats Available

Posted on June 12, 2012 by richardzorza

Here is the text of the invite from HHS to the 2 PM Eastern, Wed June 20th session, to be held at Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 1st Floor Auditorium, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20201: You are invited to … Continue reading →

Posted in Meetings, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Supreme Court, Systematic Change | Tagged , , | 1 Comment