Category Archives: Technology

CJ Lippman Announces Neighborhood Legal Information Centers — Implications and Possibilities

Posted on December 4, 2015 by richardzorza

This ground-breaking news, once again from the New York Courts.  As the press release puts it: [The] Network of Walk-in Storefronts Will Be First of Its Kind in New York and the Nation to Bring Basic Legal Information, Assistance and … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Chasm with Communities, Court Management, Legal Aid, Non-Lawyer Practice, Self-Help Services, Technology, Triage | 1 Comment

Richard Granat Proposes Safe Harbor for Law Firms Serving Low and Moderate Income Clients With Technology

Posted on December 4, 2015 by richardzorza

Richard Granat has recently made an interesting proposal to facilitate the use of technology to improve access to justice by loosening the law firm ownership rules for groups using automated solutions to serve low and middle income clients.  Specicially, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Forms, Middle Income, Self-Help Services, Technology | Comments Off on Richard Granat Proposes Safe Harbor for Law Firms Serving Low and Moderate Income Clients With Technology

On the Only Right Response to the Idea of US Government Making All Muslims Register

Posted on November 20, 2015 by richardzorza

Obviously, the recently partially apparently walked-back endorsement by a US Presidential candidate of the idea of making all Muslims register is truly obscene in the light of what such a requirement led to in the Holocaust. The answer to such … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Discrimination, Technology | 5 Comments

Answering a Law Professor’s Worry that Free Online Access to Caselaw Will not Help Access to Justice

Posted on November 14, 2015 by richardzorza

Brian Sheppard, who teaches at Seton Hall Law School, in an interesting blog post on Bloomberg, raises the question whether the Harvard Law School digitization project I blogged about recently, might not really help access to justice. His worry is … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Assembly, E-filing, Libraries, Self-Help Services, Technology | 8 Comments

Moving to Open Access For All Decisions — Implications for SRLs and For Access Organizations

Posted on October 29, 2015 by richardzorza

Today’s New York Times reports on what has the potential to be a revolutionary development in access to legal materials for access to justice. Now, in a digital-age sacrifice intended to serve grand intentions, the Harvard librarians are slicing off … Continue reading →

Posted in Libraries, Self-Help Services, Technology | 2 Comments

New York Making Big Progress on Multi-Lingual Court Orders

Posted on October 13, 2015 by richardzorza

Many of us have long believed that creating multi-lingual court orders could have a big impact on compliance and court efficiency. The New York courts have recently started taking big steps in that direction.  As the press release says: In … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Management, Document Assembly, Domestic Violence, LEP, Technology | 2 Comments

Deregulation of Nonprofit Legal Practice — An ATJ Breakthrough?

Posted on October 13, 2015 by richardzorza

Here is an idea that might be a breakthrough for access to justice, while enhancing the role and reputation of community based nonprofit legal aid programs. How about almost complete deregulation of nonprofit legal practice.  True nonprofits (defined not only … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Attorney-Client, Incubators, Legal Aid, Legal Ethics, Non-Lawyer Practice, Systematic Change, Technology | 3 Comments

The VW Scandal Tells Us That We Have to Find a Way to Make Software Transparent — Particularly for Courts

Posted on September 23, 2015 by richardzorza

The truly shocking VW emissions fraud should force us to think through how we can ensure the transparency that is needed in software.  The general issue is excellently summarize in this recent NYT article: “Intelligent public policy, as we all … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, Transparency, Triage | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Risks of a Narrow Definition of Access to Justice

Posted on September 8, 2015 by richardzorza

There is up at the ABA.com “Rebel Lawyers” an article titled “Lawyers need to move beyond ‘access to justice’ to close the legal services gap.”  It is by Dan Lear, currently director of industry relations for Avvo. What it actually … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Document Assembly, Forms, Legal Aid, Middle Income, Mixed Model, Systematic Change, Technology, Unbundling | 1 Comment

LSC’s Jim Sandman Interview Shows Pace of Change in Access to Justice

Posted on September 7, 2015 by richardzorza

A recent interview that LSC’s Jim Sandman gave to Bloomberg/BDA underlines how fast things are changing in access to justice.  Among the nuggets: Among the reasons Jim gives for the access crisis is  “A regulatory system that stultifies innovation and … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Legal Aid, LSC, Non-Lawyer Practice, Simplification, Systematic Change, Technology | Comments Off on LSC’s Jim Sandman Interview Shows Pace of Change in Access to Justice

Comments to FCC Could Help Support Broadband Access fund

Posted on August 26, 2015 by richardzorza

On July 17, the FCC proposed a rule change that would modernize and expand its lifeline program.  The current comment period (following extension) closes on Sept 30, 2015. While there are massive technical changes in the proposal, the bottom line … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, Poverty, Technology | Comments Off on Comments to FCC Could Help Support Broadband Access fund

New CCJ/COSCA Resolution on 100% Access, and How to Get There, Is a Tipping Point

Posted on August 11, 2015 by richardzorza

The week before last, the Conference of (state) Chief Justices, and the Conference of State Court Administrators jointly passed two Resolutions that together predict a tipping pint forward in moving to justice.  One sets an aspirational goal of 100% access … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Bar Associations, Communications Strategy, Court Management, Forms, Legal Aid, Mobile Technology, Outcome Measures, Political Support, Research and Evalation, Rules Reform, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage, Unbundling | 3 Comments

ATJ Commissions Planning Survey Shows Energy, Common Directions and Interest in Multi-State Networking

Posted on July 29, 2015 by richardzorza

After the Access to Justice Commissions meeting this spring in Austin, the Commissions were invited to respond to a brief survey as to their interest in following up on the areas for possible initiatives that had been the focus of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Chasm with Communities, Communications Strategy, Court Fees and Costs, Funding, Legal Aid, Metrics, Planning, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Technology | 1 Comment

An Urgent Call for Action on Moving Potential Clemency Cases Forward

Posted on July 28, 2015 by richardzorza

This blog urges the legal profession, both institutionally and individually, to step up now and play its role to help free thousands of nonviolent drug offenders given draconian federal sentences, and now potentially eligible for Presidential clemency.  First the background. … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Law, Defender Programs, Dept. of Justice, Legal Ethics, Reentry, Technology, White House | Comments Off on An Urgent Call for Action on Moving Potential Clemency Cases Forward

The Nighmare of Website Bias — Lack of Specific Intent, And Hard to Prevent

Posted on July 12, 2015 by richardzorza

Back in the early civil rights days, the strongest argument against effective civil rights enforcement was the claim that employment discriminators, for example, were merely following the demands of the market when they hired the most “appealing” staff.  (For a … Continue reading →

Posted in Discrimination, Poverty, Technology | 1 Comment