United States

This report is a product of the Equity by Design project, conducted by New America's Open Technology Institute. The report concerns the strategies being deployed to address by discriminatory harms caused by technological products and services.

Year published: 2021

Document Author: Open Technology Institute

In our November 2021 webinar, Michele Cotton, Associate Professor, Division of Legal, Ethical and Historical Studies (LEST) at the University of Baltimore, discussed the innovative Court Navigator Project she directs that engages students as navigators, including those from the course she created. Watch the recording of the SRLN Navigator November 2021 webinar via this link!

Year published: 2021

Document Author: SRLN

On September 13, 2021, the Forms & Tech Working Group discussed the complexity of adminstering effective forms initiatives and the challenges commonly encountered by court and legal aid project managers. View the working group recording: SRLN Forms & Tech Working Group Call, September 13, 2021. Resources shared:

Year published: 2021

Document Author: SRLN

In our October 2021 webinar, Lisa Zayas, Director, Division of Access to Justice, Office for Justice Initiatives, NYS Unified Court System discussed an exciting new effort underway to create their Virtual Court Navigator Pilot Program.  Watch the recording of the SRLN Navigator October 2021 webinar via this link!

Year published: 2021

Document Author: SRLN

Author Kelsea Jeon prepared this senior thesis and submitted this document to the History Department of Yale University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts.   Exploring Access to Justice in early America, Kelsea provides a detailed history of access justice and provides insights about the foundational principles that guide the legal profession today and it's relationship with the access to justice movement.  

Year published: 2020

Document Author: Kelsea Jeon

In our September 2021 session, we introduced  two new co-chairs, Robby Southers and Stacey Weiler, who have joined Mary McClymont to lead our group.  Mary Ferwerda, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Justice Center, highlighted the court navigator program she oversees there. Watch the recording of the SRLN Navigator September 2021 webinar via this link! 

Year published: 2021

Document Author: SRLN

The Maryland Court Help Center 2021 Provider Conference offered a glimpse into some of the cutting edge innovations in self-help in the COVID era.1  

Year published: 2021

Document Author: SRLN

The legal profession has been losing its authority over the regulation of legal services. Recent changes in antitrust law have put state bar associations under a spotlight. Competition from technology companies and concerns about access to justice have increased political pressure for market liberalization. Independent research is challenging the unique value of lawyers’ services, even in formal legal proceedings, and this research is increasingly well-organized and well-funded at the national level. The organized bar is asleep at the wheel and ill-prepared to respond.

Year published: 2019

Document Author: Elizabeth Chambliss, Washington University Law Review

This case begins to define a trial court's constitutional obligations to self-represented litigants. Much has been written about this case, some of which is included on srln.org. Please use the search feature to find additional resources.

Year published: 2011

Document Author: United States Supreme Court

In July 2021, the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators approved Resolution 3 In Support of Process Simplification. Acknowledging the rise in self-represented litigants in the 21st century, in this resolution, CCJ/COSCA recognized the need to simplify legal processes and systems so that all people (including SRL) can navigate the procedures, forms, and interactions with clerks and judges without legal assistance. Resolution 3 resolved:

Year published: 2021

Document Author: CCJ/COSCA