Transcript Document 7133053

Access to Justice and
Technology
Ronald W. Staudt
Class 1: Introduction
August 26, 2004
Access to Justice and
Technology
Mechanics
Justice Web Collaboratory
Will Hornsby’s Article
Access to Justice and
Technology
Seating Chart
Course Website
Course Information
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Class attendance
Assignments
Grading
Class topics
Paper topics
Web Exercise
What is the JWC?
Dedicated to
improving
access to justice
JUSTICE
WEB
Leveraging
web
technology
COLLABORATORY
Bringing different organizations
together for a common purpose
JWC Major Projects
Illinois Technology Center for Law and Public
Interest (ITC) www.itcweb.org
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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/
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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
JWC Major Projects – Research Ideas
Access to Justice (A2J) www.judgelink.org/a2j/
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Unique experiment – potential to change courts?
 Customer service; digital infrastructure; AI…
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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
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Student involvement in public service, clinical and
writing opportunities – curriculum innovation…
Knowledge management, practice impact of web tools
…
Access to Justice:
A Compelling Challenge
Statewide A2J Portals
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Massive Need
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LSC turns to technology
Court Redesign
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Courts left behind
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Pro se explosion
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
8
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
BizCase
9
LSC- Technology Initiative Grants
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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 Foundation
CARPLS
Chicago-Kent College of Law/IIT
The Chicago Bar Foundation
National Center on Poverty Law, Inc.
Prairie State Legal Services
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services
Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois
Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation
Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago
Southern Illinois University School of Law-Self Help Center
Producers
Authors &
Experts
ITCweb.org
Portals
•Courthouse
IllinoisLegalAid
Site
IllinoisProBono
Site
CMS
Managers &
Editors
Customers
IllinoisLawHelp
Site
•Legal Aid
•Office
•Social
Service
Agency
•Law School
Clinics &
Libraries
•Public
Libraries
•Home
Producers
Authors &
Experts
ITCweb.org
Portals
•Courthouse
IllinoisLegalAid
Site
IllinoisProBono
Site
CMS
Managers &
Editors
Customers
IllinoisLawHelp
Site
•Legal Aid
•Office
•Social
Service
Agency
•Law School
Clinics &
Libraries
•Public
Libraries
•Home
Producers
Authors &
Experts
ITCweb.org
Portals
•Courthouse
IllinoisLegalAid
Site
IllinoisProBono
Site
CMS
Managers &
Editors
Customers
IllinoisLawHelp
Site
•Legal Aid
•Office
•Social
Service
Agency
•Law School
Clinics &
Libraries
•Public
Libraries
•Home
Producers
Authors &
Experts
ITCweb.org
Portals
•Courthouse
IllinoisLegalAid
Site
IllinoisProBono
Site
CMS
Managers &
Editors
Customers
IllinoisLawHelp
Site
•Legal Aid
•Office
•Social
Service
Agency
•Law School
Clinics &
Libraries
•Public
Libraries
•Home
Access to Justice
Meeting the Needs of Self-Represented
Litigants:
A consumer based approach
Barriers Facing Consumers
Seeking Access to Courts
Too expensive:
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Complexity -- 50% attribute excessive
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Lawyers --
costs to complexity
85% of Americans attribute
excessive costs to attorneys
Lack of information about processes
Lack of Legal Representation
Distrust of Lawyers
Barriers to Re-engineering
Courts
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Decentralized Funding and Control
Lack of Resources
Time Constraints
Lack of Technical Know-how
System Constraints
Funding Partners
State Justice Institute
Open Society Institute
Center for Access to the Courts Through Technology
Preparing Global Leaders in the Heart of America
Pritzker/Galvin Match
Project Partners
National Center for State Courts
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Institute of Design
Part 2 – CALI, AOC in California, Maryland JN
Project Staging
PHASE 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 & 2
Shadow the Customer: Ethnographic research in 5
courts, California, Delaware, Colorado & Illinois
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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
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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 Development
www.judgelink.org/A2J/
Prototype Proof of Concept and Toolkit
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Traveling down a guided path
Easy to use interface
 Personal guide
 Map
 Personal 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
Customer Data
Access To Justice
Website
XML
XML
E-Filing at
Courthouse
Server
Document Assembly Server
(LEXISNEXIS HotDocs OnLine)
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 development
Intake and screening
Client education
Form preparation
Geographical barriers
Ongoing client communication
Dispute resolution
Ancillary businesses
What is Unbundling?
“The client is in charge of selecting one
of several discrete lawyering tasks
contained within the full-service
package.”
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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 Prochnau
King County Superior Court Administrator
Next Class
Unmet need and self represented litigants
Required 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).