Innovation and Access to Justice. We must not squander the future of legal services

• Author: Judy Perry Martinez
• Pages: 6-6

President’s Letter Follow President Martinez on

Twitter @ABAPresident or email

abapresident@americanbar.org.

Innovation

and

Access

to Justice

We must not squander

the future of legal services

BY JUDY PERRY MARTINEZ

Access to justice is a fun-

damental tenet of the rule

of law. Without it, people

cannot fully protect their

rights, liberty and property; and the

public’s condence in our justice system

is put at risk.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis

Powell, a former president of the Ameri-

can Bar Association, robustly distilled

the concept in 1976. “Equal justice un-

der law is not merely a caption on the

facade of the Supreme Court building,”

he said. “It is perhaps the most inspiring

ideal of our society. … it is fundamental

that justice should be the same, in sub-

stance and availability, without regard

to economic status.”

Yet the World Justice Project ranks

the United States tied for 99th out of

126 countries when it comes to access

to and affordability of civil justice.

Legal Services Corp. research found

that low-income Americans received

inadequate or no professional legal help

for 86% of their civil legal problems—

such as child custody, debt collection,

eviction and foreclosure. And in many

states, overwhelming caseloads and in-

adequate resources for public defenders

severely hamper the Sixth Amendment

right to counsel for indigent criminal

defendants.

Though lawyers donate countless

hours to help, pro bono cannot fully

address the unmet legal needs in our

country. Similarly, efforts to secure

adequate funding for civil legal aid and

establish a right to counsel in civil cases

have proven to be a bridge too far.

We need new ideas. We are one-fth

into the 21st century, yet we continue to

rely on 20th-century processes, proce-

dures and regulations. We need to retain

20th-century values but advance them

using 21st-century approaches that can

increase access to justice.

For example, regulators in some

states are exploring whether educated

technicians without a law degree should

be authorized and regulated under rules

of professional conduct to offer limited

legal services.

Others are looking at whether

efciencies can be gained by enabling

professionals who are not lawyers to

share fees or hold a nancial interest

in law rms without compromising

lawyer independence. Courthouse

kiosks, courthouse navigators, online

legal forms, document-preparers and

online dispute resolution are all gaining

traction around the country.

Lawyers have the privilege of

regulating their own profession. With

that privilege comes a responsibility to

ensure that the rules and regulations

of the legal profession serve the public

good. The ultimate purpose of regula-

tion is not to protect the livelihoods of

lawyers but to advance the adminis-

tration of justice. Some would suggest

that if we don’t have justice or public

protection as our goal, we potentially

put our self-regulation at risk.

Lawyers are seeing how they can

make a difference by viewing what they

do through the consumer’s lens. The

aim of current reform discussions is not

to eliminate lawyers. Quite the contrary,

the aim is to help lawyers lead changes

that are sweeping all economic sectors

of society. Part of that leadership can

be at the state level, where lawyers can

help their jurisdictions serve, as Jus-

tice Louis Brandeis described, as “the

laboratories of democracy.” Together,

building on that leadership, we can

drive efciency in the delivery of legal

services and spark greater access to jus-

tice while embracing the best principles

of the legal profession.

The ABA is actively monitoring

developments, primarily through its

Center for Innovation and Center for

Professional Responsibility. We are

bringing together leaders from within

and outside the legal industry, includ-

ing technologists, design experts and

computer scientists to think about—and

where appropriate, provide guidance—

on changes to the way legal services are

delivered and accessed. It is important

for discussions to continue not only

with lawyers and judges at the table but

also with consumers of justice.

Change is difcult. It should not be

undertaken without serious consider-

ation of the potential benets and costs.

But given the dire circumstances that

the public faces when trying to protect

their basic rights, doing nothing poses

an even greater risk to our system of

justice and the rule of law. Q

Photo © Zach Smith

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