Access to Justice and Technology Ronald W. Staudt Class 1: Introduction August 26, 2004.
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Transcript of Access to Justice and Technology Ronald W. Staudt Class 1: Introduction August 26, 2004.
Access to Justice and TechnologyRonald W. Staudt
Class 1: IntroductionAugust 26, 2004
Access to Justice and Technology
Mechanics
Justice Web Collaboratory
Will Hornsby’s Article
Access to Justice and Technology
Seating ChartCourse WebsiteCourse Information Class attendance Assignments Grading
Class topicsPaper topics Web Exercise
What is the JWC?
JUSTICE
COLLABORATORY
WEB
Leveraging web
technology
Dedicated to improving
access to justice
Bringing different organizations together for a common purpose
JWC Major ProjectsIllinois Technology Center for Law and Public Interest (ITC) www.itcweb.org
Illinois state-wide coalition of legal services providers, foundations and and bar associations
Internet portal development, access to justice and legal services for low income individuals
Access to Justice (A2J) www.judgelink.org/a2j/ Interdisciplinary study of self represented
litigants A2J prototype construction and testing Daley Center Self Help Web Desk A2J Author Project with CALI funded by the State
Justice Institute Cook County Illinois, Lake County, Illinois Maryland California
Access to Justice (A2J) www.judgelink.org/a2j/ Unique experiment – potential to change courts?
Customer service; digital infrastructure; AI… Interdisciplinary reflections Stories we experienced during the field research Student participation in new models, client
interaction…
Illinois Technology Center for Law and Public Interest (ITC) www.itcweb.org Student involvement in public service, clinical and
writing opportunities – curriculum innovation… Knowledge management, practice impact of web
tools …
JWC Major Projects – Research Ideas
Access to Justice:A Compelling Challenge
Statewide A2J Portals
Massive Need
LSC turns to
technology
Court Redesign
Courts left behind
Pro se explosion
BizCase 8
The Need 35,000,000 Americans live in households with income below the poverty level
10,000,000 more are potentially eligible for legal services with income between 100% - 125% of poverty levels
BizCase 9
Need for Legal Services
LSC agencies closed 1,000,000 cases for low income clients in
1999
Still:
80% of the Poor and Working Poor in the United States Do
Not Have Access to Legal Services
LSC- Technology Initiative Grants
As a result of the additional $4.25 million LSC received in FY 2000 for technology initiatives, our Office of Program Performance established the Technology Initiative Grants ("TIG") Program. …[W]e identified three priorities for proposals: showcase how a complete package of technology tools can help
indigent clients with access to legal services and self-help information;
new and innovative uses of technology for assisting clients; and promote the linkage of offices to provide a more cohesive
delivery system.
Unprecedented statewide collaboration To increase access to justice for low income and disadvantaged persons through innovative use of technology to train, support, and educate legal aid providers, pro bono attorneys, and the public. Partners:Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic Illinois Bar FoundationCARPLS Chicago-Kent College of Law/IIT The Chicago Bar Foundation National Center on Poverty Law, Inc.Prairie State Legal Services Chicago Volunteer Legal ServicesLawyers Trust Fund of Illinois Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance
FoundationLegal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan ChicagoSouthern Illinois University School of Law-Self Help Center
IllinoisLegalAidSite
IllinoisProBonoSite
IllinoisLawHelpSite
ITCweb.org
Authors &Experts
Managers &Editors
•Courthouse
•Legal Aid •Office
•Social Service Agency
•Law SchoolClinics &Libraries
•PublicLibraries
•Home
Customers Producers Portals
CMS
IllinoisLegalAidSite
IllinoisProBonoSite
IllinoisLawHelpSite
ITCweb.org
Authors &Experts
Managers &Editors
•Courthouse
•Legal Aid •Office
•Social Service Agency
•Law SchoolClinics &Libraries
•PublicLibraries
•Home
Customers Producers Portals
CMS
IllinoisLegalAidSite
IllinoisProBonoSite
IllinoisLawHelpSite
ITCweb.org
Authors &Experts
Managers &Editors
•Courthouse
•Legal Aid •Office
•Social Service Agency
•Law SchoolClinics &Libraries
•PublicLibraries
•Home
Customers Producers Portals
CMS
IllinoisLegalAidSite
IllinoisProBonoSite
IllinoisLawHelpSite
ITCweb.org
Authors &Experts
Managers &Editors
•Courthouse
•Legal Aid •Office
•Social Service Agency
•Law SchoolClinics &Libraries
•PublicLibraries
•Home
Customers Producers Portals
CMS
Access to JusticeMeeting the Needs of Self-Represented Litigants: A consumer based approach
Barriers Facing Consumers Seeking Access to Courts
Too expensive: Complexity -- 50% attribute excessive
costs to complexity Lawyers -- 85% of Americans
attribute excessive costs to attorneys
Lack of information about processesLack of Legal RepresentationDistrust of Lawyers
Barriers to Re-engineering Courts
Decentralized Funding and Control
Lack of Resources Time Constraints Lack of Technical Know-how System Constraints
Access to JusticeFunding Partners
State Justice InstituteOpen Society InstituteCenter for Access to the Courts Through TechnologyPreparing Global Leaders in the Heart of America Pritzker/Galvin Match
Project Partners
National Center for State CourtsChicago-Kent College of LawInstitute of Design
Part 2 – CALI, AOC in California, Maryland JN
Project StagingPHASE 1, FALL 2000:Identify the major barriers to access to justice by litigants without lawyers
PHASE 2, SPRING 2001:Employ the latest in system design methodology to redesign the process
PHASE 3, 2001-2002:Translate conceptual models into an Internet based prototype
Phase 1 & 2Shadow the Customer: Ethnographic research in 5 courts, California, Delaware, Colorado & Illinois
what do people want from courts, what do they do in the courthouse
Design new solutions: Structured Workshop to design new solutions from the customers’ perspective
Charter, Defining Statements, Design Factors, Function Structure, Information Structure and
53 Solution Elements in a System Structure
Report available at http://www.judgelink.org/a2j/ and in a book released this summer.
Phase 3: Prototype Developmentwww.judgelink.org/A2J/
Prototype Proof of Concept and Toolkit Traveling down a guided path Easy to use interface
Personal guideMapPersonal Folder and Document List
Operational Prototype – Simple Illinois Divorce
Judgelink.org\A2J\prototypes\
Cook County Illinois Joint Simplified Dissolution of Marriage “Guide me” w/ HotDocs linkage
Access To JusticeWebsite
Customer Data
Document Assembly Server(LEXISNEXIS HotDocs OnLine)
E-Filing at Courthouse
Server
XML
XML
Shift to the Digital Paradigm
Will Hornsby
Unmet need
Two tiers of law practice: corporate/institutional clients & personal plight lawyers
Pro se and unbundling
Inefficiencies of traditional model and digital design efficiencies
Inefficiencies of traditional model and digital design efficiencies
Client developmentIntake and screeningClient educationForm preparationGeographical barriersOngoing client communicationDispute resolutionAncillary businesses
What is Unbundling?
“The client is in charge of selecting one of several discrete lawyering tasks contained within the full-service package.”
Forrest Mosten
Why do we care?
Access to Justice remains a serious problem in the US and “…by providing limited service representation or ‘unbundled’ services in the area of civil law [we may be able to] stretch limited ‘free’ services and make for cost services affordable to a larger segment of our society.
Kim ProchnauKing County Superior Court Administrator
Next Class
Unmet need and self represented litigantsRequired Reading Deborah L. Rhode, Professionalism in
Perspective: Alternative Approaches to Nonlawyer Practice, 1 J. Inst. Stud. Leg. Eth. 197 (1996).
ABA Legal Needs Study Illinois Legal Needs Study Recommended Reading Owen, Staudt & Pedwell, Access to Justice:
Meeting the Needs of Self-Represented Litigants (2002).