AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE DELIVERY OF LEGAL SERVICES
INFORMATIONAL REPORT TO THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES
The mission of the Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services is to maximize access to legal services and justice for moderate-income people. This mission is pursued through four goals:
- To research and identify the scope, dynamics and impact of the unmet legal needs of moderate-income people;
- To create an environment in the legal community cognizant of meeting the legal needs of moderate-income people, and encourage the ABA, other bar associations and legal groups to actively respond to the unmet legal needs of this population;
- To identify, evaluate and advance innovative and exemplary models and develop mechanisms designed to meet the legal needs of moderate-income persons within the marketplace of legal commerce; and
- To identify policies, rules and laws that have an impact on access to legal services for those of moderate income; develop and advance those policies, rules and laws that create improved access to meet legal needs; and identify, debate and challenge policies, rules and laws that create barriers to meeting legal needs.
The Committee maintains an extensive Advisory Council, composed of experts from around the country, to assist in the advancement of these goals. Most Council members are former committee members who continue to contribute after their tenure on the Committee. A roster of council members is posted at http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/delivery/delcomrost.html.
The Committee has researched aspects of pro se litigation for over 20 years, beginning with an analysis of self-represented divorces in Maricopa County, Arizona, in the mid-1980s. The Committee’s research has lead to innovations in the courts, such as the development of self-help centers. Today there are more than 130 self-help centers in courts around the country. The Committee also advances changes in practice, including unbundled legal services. The Committee has brought together both qualitative and quantitative research conducted by other sources and distributed that information through its Pro Se/Unbundling Resource Center, at
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/delivery/delunbund.html. The Resource Center has just gone through a comprehensive update of cases, ethics opinions, reports and articles.
As the only national entity specifically dedicated to the delivery of legal services for those of moderate income, the Committee has an extensive outreach component. Committee members have participated in programs on aspects of pro se litigation and unbundled legal services in many states. In recent years, the Committee has provided programming for conferences sponsored by the ABA Center for Pro Bono, the ABA TechShow, the Bar Leadership Institute and the American Prepaid Legal Services Institute. The Committee also participates in state and local conferences and workshops, most recently in Illinois, Kentucky, and Louisiana. The Committee pursues outreach to law students, young lawyers and general practitioners. It is currently planning the production of an online presentation on best practice for unbundled legal services and a symposium on innovations in the practice of law in New Orleans in the spring.
The Committee advances innovative and exemplary models of delivering legal services through the annual Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access and the Blueprints Project. The Brown Award recognizes entities that foster the commitment to affordable legal services to those of moderate incomes. The 2008 Brown Award was presented to the Chicago-Kent College of Law Center for Access to Justice and Technology for its development of innovative document assembly software and participation in its courthouse-based Self-Help Web Center. The Baltimore-based Civil Justice, Inc., the California Commission on Access to Justice, and the Santa Monica coffeehouse Legal Grinds are among the entities that have been recognized through this Award. Details about the Brown Award are posted at http://www.abalegalservices.org/delivery/brown.html. The Blueprints Project encourages replication of successful delivery models. The Committee creates online technical assistance materials providing detailed information to those interested in duplicating models. The most recent blueprint provides assistance for the development of law school courses on Access to Justice. The next blueprint will create a model for co-pay non-profit legal clinics serving those of moderate income. Information is at http://www.abalegalservices.org/delivery/blueprints.html.
Finally, the Committee is dedicated to the identification, development and advancement of policies that enable and encourage improved access, and to opposing policies and practices which may hinder access. The Committee is updating its 2005 white paper that analyzes rules clarifying the lawyer’s role in serving pro se litigants. The paper, entitled An Analysis of Rules that Enable Lawyers to Serve Pro Se Litigants, is available at http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/downloads/delivery/prosewhitepaperfeb2005.pdf. The paper serves as a guide for states considering policies clarifying the role of lawyers who assist pro se litigants. Changes in policies from several states are being added to the paper. Some of these changes were stimulated by the Committee’s earlier compilation of state policies.
In 2008, the Committee initiated a series of public hearings on the role of technology in the delivery of legal services, with a focus on use of the Internet by both lawyers and non-lawyer entities who are providing legal services. The Committee has held three hearings, collected testimony from 28 presenters and collected written materials from several others. Audio of the hearings are at the project’s web site, at http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/delivery/techhearings.html. The Committee is now preparing a report that examines the need for policies to address the balance of access to legal services with the needs of consumer protection. The committee then plans to serve as a catalyst to form coalitions that can effectively promulgate and advance appropriate policies.
Respectfully Submitted,
M. Catherine Richardson, Chair
February 2009
