Report: Making Self-Help Work: Bet Tzedek’s Conservatorship Clinic (Bet Tzedek 2013)
Since 2007, Bet Tzedek Legal Services has been running a self-help conservatorship clinic in partnership with the Los Angeles Superior Court. Originally designed to serve 150 self-represented litigants per year, the program served more than 1,400 self-represented litigants by 2012, which amounts to more than 40 percent of all new conservatorship filings in the county.
Year published:
2013
Document Author:
Bet Tzedek Legal Services
News: Call for Justice (Minnesota 2015)
Call for Justice, LLC is an innovative non-profit in Minneapolis that seeks to improve access to justice by connecting low-income people to existing legal resources, in partnership with United Way 211 and others. Through collaboration and training, Call for Justice has been able to leverage the 211 system to connect people to the right kind of legal help when they need it, as well as to expand pro bono services. In 2015 they were awarded the prestigious Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access from the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services.
Year published:
2015
Document Author:
Call for Justice
Weblinks: ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services (ABA 2015)
The ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services has the mandate to improve access to lawyers and legal services for those of modern income – those who do not qualify for legal aid yet lack the resources for full representation. The committee maintains a robust webpage that contains information on the changing practice of law, access to justice initiatives in bar associations around the country, and comprehensive information on unbundling and the incubator movement.
Year published:
2015
Document Author:
American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services
Weblinks: Attorney Ethics When Interacting with an SRL (ABA 2015)
This web page is an inventory of state ethics opinions on the ethical duties of an attorney when interacting with a self-represented litigant (SRL). It is maintained by the Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services and is available at http://www.americanbar.org/groups/delivery_legal_services/resources/pro….
Year published:
2015
Document Author:
American Bar Association
Article: Practical Advice from the Trenches (Wilson & Hutchins 2015)
This article, by Judge Wilson and Judge Hitchins of Baltimore, discusses the value of neutral engagement in easy the tensions for the judge in the SRL courtroom.
Year published:
2015
Document Author:
Dorothy J. WIlson, Miriam Brown Hutchins
Weblinks: Voices for Civil Justice (Voices 2015)
Voices for Civil Justice launched in 2014 to serve as a nonpartisan communications hub advancing fairness in America’s legal system. Voices has developed a Media Toolkit for Civil Legal Aid Supporters.
Year published:
2015
Document Author:
Voices for Civil Justice
Weblinks: Access to Justice Commissions (ABA 2015)
Access to Justice Commissions are collaborative entitites that bring together courts, the bar, civil legal aid providers, and other stakeholders in an effort to remove barriers to civil justice for low-income and disadvantaged people. Beginning with the first ATJ Commission in 1994 (Washington State), such entities have been developing all over the country, engaging in a full range of activities and strategies to accomplish their goals and objectives.
Year published:
2015
Document Author:
American Bar Association
Report: Access to Justice Initiatives in the Trial Court: 2009-2014 (Massachusetts 2014)
This report is a product of the Massachusetts Trial Court's Access to Justice Initiative, whose mission is to guide and coordinate resources within the Trial Court to broaden access to civil justice for all litigants, including self-represented litigants, individuals of modest means, those of limited or no English proficiency, and individuals with mental or physical disabilities; to work with judicial leaders in the Trial Court to develop long- and short-range goals, statewi
Year published:
2014
Document Author:
Dina E. Fein, Erika J. Rickard, Massachusetts Access to Justice Initiative
Weblinks: Elkins Family Law Task Force & Implementation Task Force (Judicial Branch of California 2010, 2013)
In Elkins v. Superior Court (2007) 41 Cal.4th 1337, the California court recommended that the Judicial Council of California establish a task force to “study and propose measures to assist trial courts in achieving efficiency and fairness in marital dissolution proceedings and to ensure access to justice for litigants, many of whom are self-represented.” In response to this recommendation, the Elkins Family Law Task Force was appointed in 2008.
Year published:
2010, 2013
Document Author:
Judicial Branch of California
Weblinks: Efficiencies and Innovation in California (Judicial Branch of California 2015)
On its webpage entitled, Efficiencies & Innovations (courts.ca.gov), the The California judicial branch, which is widely acknowledged as a national leader in developing and implementing programs that enhance access to justice, provides information and links to numerous initiatives have been implemented statewide and at individual trial courts to ensure that public service is delivered effectively and efficiently for the benefit of court users.
Year published:
2015
Document Author:
Judicial Branch of California