Access to Justice

Legal Chatbots: What can and can’t they do?

Chatbots have emerged as a tool with the enormous potential to help bridge the access-to-justice gap. But could they also have an enormous potential for harm?

Sep 14, 2022 8:37 AM CDT

Defendants waiting too long for public defenders are entitled to dismissal of charges, suit says

Eight Wisconsin plaintiffs who have waited weeks or even months for appointed lawyers have filed a class action lawsuit claiming a violation of their right to counsel under the federal and state constitutions.

Aug 25, 2022 1:00 PM CDT

Massachusetts high court tells defense counsel when to stay quiet about confidential information

Massachusetts’ highest appellate court has instructed lawyers about when to stay quiet about evidence that could incriminate their clients.

Aug 23, 2022 2:00 PM CDT

Supreme Court should uphold Indian Child Welfare Act, ABA says in amicus brief

The ABA has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act, writing in an amicus brief filed Thursday that Congress enacted the statute “under valid constitutional authority and on the basis of an extensive body of evidence and law.”

Aug 19, 2022 9:28 AM CDT

Following decades of discourse on nonlawyer legal services, questions of motives continue

As some states consider relaxing ethical rules prohibiting nonlawyers from owning law firms, supporters and opponents of these proposals remain suspicious of one another.

Aug 17, 2022 11:54 AM CDT

Advances in legal tech and regulatory innovation explored in new ABA report

The ABA Center for Innovation on Tuesday released its inaugural Innovation Trends Report, which explores developments in the legal services industry by focusing on internal ABA innovation, advances in legal technology and regulatory innovation.

Aug 16, 2022 2:18 PM CDT

Licensed paralegals program in Oregon gets final approval

The Oregon Supreme Court has given final approval to a program that allows licensed paralegals to provide limited legal services in family law and landlord-tenant cases.

Jul 25, 2022 9:02 AM CDT

House committee approves record $675M in funding for civil legal services

The U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Appropriations has approved $675 million in funding for the Legal Services Corp. in fiscal year 2023, an increase of $186 million.

Jun 30, 2022 1:05 PM CDT

Taking on unauthorized practice of law regulations to expand access to justice

A professor talks to the ABA Journal’s Victor Li about New York-based company Upsolve’s lawsuit regarding UPL rules and access-to-justice issues in general.

Jun 15, 2022 8:33 AM CDT

Federal judge greenlights legal tech company’s use of nonlawyers for legal advice

A legal technology company’s use of nonlawyers in a program helping New Yorkers facing debt actions likely does not violate the state’s unauthorized practice of law rules because it is protected speech, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

May 26, 2022 10:22 AM CDT

Nonlawyer paraprofessionals couldn’t jointly own law firms under revised licensing proposal in this state

A revised proposal for licensing paraprofessionals in California eliminates a provision that would have allowed the nonlawyers to own law firms with lawyers.

May 25, 2022 9:12 AM CDT

Maine will hire its first public defenders to aid struggling indigent defense system

Maine, the last state without public defenders, will soon deploy five of them after Democratic Gov. Janet T. Mills signed a bill earlier this month to create a rural public defenders unit.

May 19, 2022 11:24 AM CDT

Oregon’s overburdened public defender system is ‘buckling before our eyes’

The public defender system in Oregon is so overburdened that several hundred defendants don’t have legal representation at any given time.

May 11, 2022 2:31 PM CDT

When it comes to the law, is justice always just?

What hath the law to do with justice? And if it does, to what extent does this connection influence our decision to become lawyers? Is the motivation instinctual?

May 11, 2022 8:40 AM CDT

Panel attorneys who represent children, indigent adults in New York courts flee low pay

Panel attorneys who represent children and indigent adults in New York family and criminal courts haven’t had a fee hike in almost two decades.

May 3, 2022 8:43 AM CDT