Page 79 - Impact: Collected Essays on Expanding Access to Justice

outside of courtrooms, http://www .wsba .org/licensing-and-lawyer-conduct/limited- licenses/legal-technicians . Social workers, case workers, mental health workers, homeless outreach workers, may also have roles responding to otherwise unmet legal needs . In the United Kingdom, the McKenzie Friend may provide diverse forms of support to the litigant, both inside and outside the courtroom, and may charge a fee for such services, if approved by the court . http://www .courtsni .gov .uk/en-gb/judicial%20decisions/practice%20 directions/documents/practice%20note%2003-12/practice%20note%2003-12 .htm .
n Networking – The International Legal Aid Group (ILAG) is a network of legal aid specialists including chief executives and managers from legal aid commissions, high ranking civil servants and leading academics in over two dozen countries, with the mission of improving evidence- based policy-making in the field of poverty legal services through discussion and dialogue relating to international developments in policy and research . http://www .internationallegalaidgroup . org . The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is also supporting the exchange of “good practices” among its member countries and partners . http:// www .oecd .org/gov/oecd-expert-roundtable-equal-access-to-justice .htm .
n Human Rights – The Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute’s Human Rights in the U .S . Project builds the capacity of U .S . lawyers, policymakers and advocates to incorporate a human rights framework into domestic social justice advocacy efforts, including by building networks, facilitating trainings, conducting educational outreach, and promoting coordination among progressive public policy and advocacy groups . http://web .law .columbia .edu/human-rights- institute/human-rights-us. See also, the Human Rights at Home blog, http://lawprofessors . typepad .com/human_rights .
4. Movement to Reverse Court-Stripping, Tort Reform, Compulsory Arbitration Doctrines
– People seeking to vindicate their civil legal rights often face limits on the capacity and authority of courts to resolve claims . These limits may include mandatory arbitration requirements, class action restrictions, caps on liability, sovereign immunity defenses, standing requirements, threshold criteria for making a claim, and even limitations on eligibility for attorneys’ fees . Some barriers arise as judicial precedents; others surface in federal and state laws and in court rules . Some organizations are working to remove these barriers . See, e.g., Public Justice, http://www . publicjustice .net/what-we-do/access-justice; American Constitution Society, https://www . acslaw .org/acsblog/all/access-to-justice .
5. Legal Education Reform, including Pro Bono, Incubator Programs, Fellowships and Loan Forgiveness – Legal education is in flux . Law schools are increasing support for students and faculty in pro bono initiatives and are teaching students about “the justice gap .” The ABA accreditation standards now require schools to offer experiential education credits and explicitly encourage schools to provide opportunities to students to perform at least 50 hours of pro bono service by graduation . http://www .americanbar .org/content/dam/aba/publications/misc/legal_education/ Standards/2015_2016_chapter_3 .authcheckdam .pdf . New York requires 50 hours of pro bono service as a pre-requisite to admission to the State bar, https://www .nycourts .gov/attorneys/ probono/baradmissionreqs .shtml . Schools are supporting graduates in new public interest fellowships, and many are running “incubator programs” that help graduates with new law practices providing “low bono” services . http://www .americanbar .org/groups/delivery_legal_services/ initiatives_awards/program_main .html . Some states are experimenting with early administration of bar exams to students who qualify as Pro Bono Scholars by fulfilling pro bono service commitments in the third year . http://www .nycourts .gov/attorneys/probonoscholars/index .shtml . The federal government has established a Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, https://studentaid . ed .gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service, and organizations have worked
Alternative Models
77