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
Paper: Court Simplification In New York State: Budgetary Savings And Economic Efficiencies (Modern Courts 2013)
This paper by the Committee for Modern Courts offers an analysis of the impact of simplification and concludes that in addition to the many substantive advantages of court simplification, including making our courts more understandable to the public and improving access to justice, the budgetary and economic savings to the court system and to those who use it are real and substantial.
Also see, The Fund for Modern Court's simplification project.
Year published:
2013
Document Author:
Committee for Modern Courts
Article: Some First Thoughts On Court Simplification: The Key To Civil Access And Justice Transformation (Zorza 2013)
From the Abstract:
Year published:
2013
Document Author:
Richard Zorza
Article: Access to Justice and Technology Clinics: A 4% Solution (Staudt & Medeiros 2013)
In recent years, project-based clinics, based around the long-standing Justice and Technology Practicum course offered at IIT Chicago-Kent, have emerged that focus on teaching students how to use and implement technology to assist low-income people.
Year published:
2013
Document Author:
Ronald W. Staudt, Andrew P. Medeiros
SRLN Brief: Plain Language Audit Tools for Your Documents (SRLN 2015)
Here are various resources to help test your documents:
This article from the NWT Literacy Council in Canada tackles what is a plain language audit, who should do a plain language audit, why should you do a plain language audit, and how do you do a plain language audit. It can be found at https://www.nwtliteracy.ca/sites/srln.org/files/resources/136648a_nwt_l….
Year published:
2015
Document Author:
Self-Represented Litigation Network
Article: Focus Group: Connecting Writers of Legal Documents with Their Audience (Mindlin & McCormick 2012)
This article is about focus groups which are a qualitative research tool that tell you if the main message and purpose of your form are understood. It also tackles who uses focus groups, data analysis, number and location of focus groups to be conducted, participant recruitment, applicability of results, and when to use focus groups. It is available at http://www.transcend.net/library/html/focusGroups.html.
Year published:
2012
Document Author:
Maria Mindlin & Katherine McCormick
News: Alaska Court Uses Triage and Targeted Pro Bono Unbundled Legal Advice to Settle 80% of Contested Domestic Cases (Alaska State Court System 2015)
Various Supplementary Resources:
Listen to a piece about ERP on NPR
Learn more about the self-help services in Alaska for family law cases (opens as PDF)
Early Resolution for Family Law Cases in Alaska's Courts
Year published:
2015
Document Author:
News, SRLN
News: Access Track Organizer Richard Schauffler Reflects that CTC2015 Focused on Consumer Driven Solutions Shaped by Data (Court Technology Conference 2015)
Richard Schauffler, Director of Research Services at the National Center for State Courts and Co-Organizer of the Access to Justice track at the Court Technology Conference 2015 with SRLN's Katherine Alteneder, offered us a host of great reflections on the gathering.
Year published:
2015
Document Author:
Alex Smith Davis, News
News: Florida’s Clerk Russell On Opening a New Self Help Center (Florida 2015)
When we saw this inspiring video of Orange Country Florida Clerk of Courts Tiffany Moore Russell opening a brand new Self Help Center, we had to reach out to her. Clerk Russell has a strong dedication to helping the self-represented litigants in her county.
Year published:
2015
Document Author:
Alex Smith Davis, News
SRLN Brief: Examples of Legal Aid On-Line Intake and Triage Projects (SRLN 2016)
Over the years, legal aid programs developed complex intake protocols and decision trees to help manage their crushing caseload. Initially, these screening tools were simply paper documents that intake staff could use. Then, as telephone hotlines developed, far more complicated decision trees were developed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of hotline attorneys. And today, many programs are creating on-line intake and triage systems that are integrated into their informational webpages and/or case management systems.
Year published:
2015, 2016
Document Author:
Self-Represented Litigation Network