Page 119 - Impact: Collected Essays on Expanding Access to Justice

Will technology-enabled services miss those without access to technology?
In a digitized legal profession, some consumers will first seek information from the on-line and mobile portals that might offer them legal insights and guidance and they will then end their search for answers instead of seeking out further assistance of an attorney; they will then turn to their legal problems armed with the information and guidance they obtained in their search . Others will fill out an on-line questionnaire and perhaps obtain a pre-packaged form or pleading that they will use to attempt to address their legal dispute on their own . Still others will seek brief advice and assistance, perhaps speaking to an attorney or legal “navigator” who will provide some level of guidance . Finally, some will rely on direct, so-called “bespoke” services or individually tailored legal services, paying a premium for the privilege .
The extent to which the consumer feels she can address the presenting legal problem through the level of service she accesses will, to a certain degree, drive the selection of the approach the consumer takes . What is more likely, however, is that the consumer’s ability to afford a particular level of service will likely drive the decision to select among the particular options available . In other words, resources, not need, will still dictate the consumer’s decision, just as they do today . Does that mean the promise of access to justice will still come down to resources and income?
Apart from the direct impact of resources on access to justice, even when legal services are more affordable, other resource barriers to the availability of legal services, even ones that are technology enabled, will still exist . While concerns over the so-called “digital divide” have diminished over recent years, and more and more low- and moderate-income consumers have access to the internet and mobile technology in the form of smart phones, if technology is going to be the new avenue through which the justice gap is to be addressed, one cannot overlook the fact that there are still parts of the country and communities where access to broadband and cellular services is either non-existent or unreliable .14 Technology-enabled services are only an effective means of meeting the promise of access to justice if individuals and families of low- and moderate-income communities have access to the technology that makes such access to justice possible . Expanding access to justice through technology will thus require a concomitant increase in access to technology . Since the Great Recession, the federal government has taken steps to address the digital divide and to support state and local government efforts to do so as well . In early 2009, as part of the federal stimulus package, Congress adopted measures designed to expand digital access .15 As a part of that effort, the Federal Communications Commission issued a report, in 2010, outlining specific steps for doing so .16 While a discussion of the specific strategies for closing the digital divide are beyond the scope of this essay, any expansion of the use of technology to promote access to justice will necessarily require concomitant actions that also expand access to that technology .
14 For a description of the present state of digital access, see The whiTe house, council on economic adVisors issue brief, maPPing The digiTal diVide (July 2015), https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/wh_digital_divide_ issue_brief.pdf.
15 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, 47 u.S.C. § 1305 (describing goals and purposes of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program).
16 federal communicaTions commission, connecTing america: The naTional broadband Plan xi (2010), available at https:// transition.fcc.gov/national-broadband-plan/national-broadband-plan.pdf.
Alternative Models
117