Category Archives: Systematic Change

Assessing the Appropriateness of ATJ Innovations

Posted on October 28, 2014 by richardzorza

The more I am involved with discussions about possible access to justice innovations, the more I am struck that often those in favor and those against are really talking across each other because they are assessing the utility and value … Continue reading →

Posted in Non-Lawyer Practice, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change | 4 Comments

Pro Bono Could Lead the Way in Resolving the Struggle for the Soul of the Legal Profession

Posted on September 27, 2014 by richardzorza

I have been up in Canada to address the excellent National Pro Bono gathering in Regina Saskatchewan, and hearing about the many pro bono and court innovations moving forward there, as well as from Justice Thomas Cromwell of their Supreme … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Non-Lawyer Practice, Pro Bono, Systematic Change | Tagged | 1 Comment

Guest Blogger Dave Pantzer on “What can a surgeon, a jet pilot, and a construction foreman teach us about the legal profession?”

Posted on September 6, 2014 by richardzorza

This post from guest blogger Dave Pantzer discusses Atul Gawande’s 2009 book The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, and suggests that the legal profession take seriously the challenges and opportunities set forth in the book. Anthony DeFilippo almost … Continue reading →

Posted in Systematic Change | 2 Comments

Guest Blogger Katherine Alteneder of SRLN Suggests Strategies for Getting to 100% Self-Help Services Coverage Nationally

Posted on August 28, 2014 by richardzorza

I invited Katherine Alteneder, my replacement as coordinator of the Self-Represented Litigation Network, to bring us up to date on the potential impact of the very important recent ABA survey on Self-Help Centers. This is her guest post. I hope … Continue reading →

Posted in Self-Help Services, SRLN, Systematic Change | 1 Comment

American Constition Society Issuue Brief Addresses Multi-Layered Approach to Solving Access Crisis

Posted on July 28, 2014 by richardzorza

Historically, I have found that the generally progressive community — even the generally progressive legal community — has been relatively traditional in is approach to the access to justice crisis.  The “line” has been right to counsel, and increased funding … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Systematic Change | Comments Off on American Constition Society Issuue Brief Addresses Multi-Layered Approach to Solving Access Crisis

Assessing the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Institutional Structure of Communty Based Legal Aid

Posted on July 21, 2014 by richardzorza

As “access to justice” receives more and more attention, and as we start to put in place new structures such as the “communications hub,” perhaps it is time to step back and think about the strengths and weakness of our … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy, LSC, Systematic Change | Comments Off on Assessing the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Institutional Structure of Communty Based Legal Aid

Guest Post on Potential of Lay Advocates by Allan Rodgers

Posted on June 26, 2014 by richardzorza

Allan Rodgers of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute was my backup resource when I did unemployment advocacy before law school, back in the mid-70s.  His personal model of probity and vision is one the reasons I became a lawyer, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Management, Non-Lawyer Practice, Systematic Change | 3 Comments

The Legal Aid Community Should be Ready to Help the Nation’s Response to Crisis

Posted on June 14, 2014 by richardzorza

Recent news events have led me to reflect on how the legal aid community, broadly defined, needs to be ready to help when crisis hits.  While the ultimate outcome of events in Iraq remains uncertain, it is all too possible … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, Planning, Systematic Change | 1 Comment

NYT Report on California “Court-Aided Divorce” is a Milestone in Several Ways

Posted on June 7, 2014 by richardzorza

Today’s Times report’s on one day court-aided divorce is a breakthrough in several ways. First it is a breakthrough that the concept, while perhaps obvious once articuleatd, is actually now deployed, if only in a few places.  The core paras … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications Strategy, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change | 1 Comment

Courts are Dysfunctinal for Different Kinds of Litigants in Profoundly Different Ways

Posted on May 25, 2014 by richardzorza

It seems to me that the discussions about how to make courts work again have suffered from a problem of fragmentation. While basically all courts operate under the same rules, based on the 1930’s Federal Rule project, there are now … Continue reading →

Posted in Federal Courts, Foreclosure, Rules Reform, Simplification, Systematic Change | Comments Off on Courts are Dysfunctinal for Different Kinds of Litigants in Profoundly Different Ways

A Cautionary Tale — Cartoon Points Out the Downsides of Automated Courts

Posted on May 18, 2014 by richardzorza

The LA Times has a great cartoon on court automation that might give folks a kick. Accompanying a (presumably humorous) piece on the potential of court automation, the cartoon has four panels.  In one a person tries to fill in … Continue reading →

Posted in Systematic Change, Technology, Transparency | 2 Comments

Glenn Rawdon’s Visionary White House Speech is About 100% Access, And More, Not Just About Technology

Posted on April 13, 2014 by richardzorza

Glenn Rawdon’s speech titled Everyone, Anytime, Anywhere at the April 8 White House Forum on Increasing Access to Justice was about far more than technology.  After describing how Bill gates talked in 1999 about technology convergence, the history of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy, Document Assembly, Mobile Technology, Systematic Change, Technology | 4 Comments

“Gideon Voucher” Experiment Offers Client Choice

Posted on January 5, 2014 by richardzorza

Adam Liptak has a fascinating piece in today’s New York Times that includes discussion of an experimental “Gideon Voucher” system to be tried in Comal County, Tex with funding from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission. The article contrasts it to … Continue reading →

Posted in Defender Programs, Funding, Mixed Model, Public Defender, Systematic Change | 1 Comment

Some Thoughts on the LSC Technology Summit Report

Posted on January 2, 2014 by richardzorza

LSC has now formally released its Technology Summit Report.  While I have previously blogged on the careful and inclusive process here, and here and here and here and here, I thought it would be most useful to make general comments … Continue reading →

Posted in LSC, Systematic Change, Technology | 2 Comments

“The Doctor Will See All 8 of You Now” — But What About the Lawyer?

Posted on December 24, 2013 by richardzorza

A recent fascinating New York Times article and blog discusses experiments in which doctors provide group rather than individual consultations to pregnant women. The goal, other than efficiency, is to help create supportive communities. Group visits are useful for any … Continue reading →

Posted in Attorney-Client, Medical System Comparision, Systematic Change | 4 Comments