Justice and Technology Clinic-A New Model for Delivery

John MayerCALI

Ronald W. StaudtChicago-Kent College of LawCenter for Access to Justice & Technology

APPS 4 JUSTICE

Two Access to Justice Successes!

LSC: TIG grants deliver tools to unrepresented.

CLEPR delivers law student services to unrepresented.

2000- 2010 1968-1978

CLEPR = Council on Legal Education and Professional

Responsibility

Need for Legal Services

Legal Services Corporation funded agencies complete 1,000,000 cases each year

Still:

50% of those seeking legal help at these agencies are turned away

80% of the poor and working poor in the United States do not have access to legal

services

Steady rise in self representation in U.S. courts

Significant increases in self representation in CA divorce cases

In 2009 in Chicago, creditor cases tripled,

“Therefore, you could say pro se cases have tripled!”

Meeting the Needs of Self-Represented Litigants: A Consumer Based Approach Research (1999-2001)

SJI grant number: SJI-00-N-248 and other funding partners Prototype Development (2001 – 2003)

The Joint Simplified Dissolution of Marriage Prototype A2J Author™ (2004…ongoing)

A factory to produce web-based Guided Interviews SJI grant numbers:

SJI-04-N-121 & SJI-04-N-121-C06-1 LSC Technology Initiative Grants:

TIG#60661 (2006): Partners - Legal Aid of Western New York, Pro Bono Net, and Center for Computer Aided Legal Instruction

TIG#07538 etc (2007-2009) : Partners - Idaho Legal Aid Services, Inc. and Center for Computer Aided Legal Instruction

A Consumer Based Approach: Research

• Identify the major barriers to access to justice by litigants without lawyers• Ethnographic research in 5 courts,

California, Delaware, Colorado & Illinois

• Employ the latest in system design methodology to redesign the process

• Design Factors, Function Structure, Information Structure, Solution Elements, System Structure

The Prototype: Joint Simplified Dissolution of Marriage

The Prototype: Joint Simplified Dissolution of Marriage

Meeting the Needs of Self-Represented Litigants: A Consumer Based Approach Prototype Lessons Learned:

The Interface works!

Custom development requires expensive technical expertise

Solution

A graphical user interface designed by Chicago-Kent and CALI for low-income, self-represented individuals

What is A2J Author?

Guided Interviews

Intelligent document templates

A2J Author™: Document assembly front-end & more

Document Assembly

Petition for a Protection Order

Petition for a Protection Order

Typical A2J Interview on IllinoisLegalAid.org

Connects to National Server - LawHelpInteractive.org

Completed Documents Delivered to Local Computer

A2J Author Activity-Legal Services & Courts, 2000- 2010

32 States & 4 countries500 A2J Guided Interviews

500,000 Court Documents

Petition for a Protection Order

Petition for a Protection Order

Two Access to Justice Successes!

LSC: TIG grants deliver tools to unrepresented.

CLEPR delivers law student services to unrepresented.

2000- 2010 1968-1978

CLEPR Helps Establish U.S.Clinical Education 1968-1978

Annual hours of law student legal services- in millions/year

1968 1978

Apps 4 Justice Clinics

Powerful educational punch.

Increase access to justice.

Legal Aid - New A2J Guided Interviews• Guardianship petition• Expungement complaint• Wage theft IDOL claim

etc.

Law Students -• Field observation/help desk• Scope document• Research memo• Storyboard• A2J Guided Interview &

HotDocs template

Justice & Technology Practicum2010-2011

Why Apps 4 Justice clinics deliver powerful education:Deep dive into law, procedure &

heuristics

Exposure to policy/ethical issues raised by legal services delivery and technology

Key competencies for emerging law practice (elawyering, unbundling, web2.0 & “cloud practice”)

Proposed National Initiative:Apps 4 Justice Clinics: 2012-14 Course materials and

distance tools on CALI & Google

5 clinic pilots with LSC

Matching students to projects

Marketing, evaluation and plan for growth

Will Produce

ROI— Virtuous Circle

Skills & Core Competencies

A2J Guided

Interviews &

Templates

Access to Justice

A4J Clinical courses

Apps 4 JusticeLearning Law by Building Software

April 15, 2011

Justice and Technology Clinic-A New Model for Delivery

Justice and Technology Clinic-A New Model for Delivery

John MayerCALI

Ronald W. StaudtChicago-Kent College of LawCenter for Access to Justice & Technology

APPS 4 JUSTICE