Law Commons^™

Book Review Of Public Interest Lawyering: A Contemporary Perspective, By Alan K. Chen And Scott Cummings, Catherine Albiston

Catherine R. Albiston

No abstract provided.

Encouraging The Development Of Low Bono Law Practices, Luz E. Herrera

Luz Herrera

For decades, the discussion about access to justice has primarily focused on the ability of low–income individuals to obtain free representation by lawyers. Lawyer representation is the “gold star” of the legal profession and advocates of legal services for the poor have fought difficult battles to ensure the most disadvantaged in our country have access to these professionals. As a result, legal aid programs and pro bono services that assist the most economically disadvantaged in our country are now common in our legal service delivery system.

Despite those important efforts, only 50% of those eligible for free legal services actually …

What Is Legal Education? And Should We Permit It To Continue In Its Present Form?, Herma Hill Kay

Herma Hill Kay

No abstract provided.

Law School Based Incubators And Access To Justice – Perspectives From Deans, Patricia E. Salkin, Ellen Suni, Niels Schaumann, Mary Lu Bilek

Patricia E. Salkin

At the end of February 2015, law professors, law deans, incubator staff and attorneys, and self-selected others gathered at California Western School of Law for the Second Annual Conference on Law School Incubators and Residency Programs. The incubators that are the subject of this article tend to focus on transition to law practice and access to justice, and some are also working to incorporate technology for the practice of law as a means of enhancing access to justice. As more law schools decide to host, sponsor or offer an incubator, and following our panel discussion at the February 2015 incubator …

Life In The Law-Thick World: The Legal Resource Landscape For Ordinary Americans, Gillian K. Hadfield, Jamie Heine

Gillian K Hadfield

Clinical Legal Education & Access To Justice: Conflicts, Interests, & Evolution, Margaret B. Drew, Andrew P. Morriss

Andrew P. Morriss

The explosive growth in the number of law school clinics over the last 50 years began with an individual client focus as a core component. This contributed to reducing unmet legal needs in substantive areas such as landlord-tenant, family, consumer and other areas. These service clinics accomplished the dual purpose of training students in the day-to-day challenges of practice while reducing the number of unrepresented poor. In recent years, however, the trend has been to broaden the law school clinical experience beyond individual representation and preparation for law firm practice. So-called “impact” clinics typically address systemic change without significant individual …

Clinical Legal Education & Access To Justice: Conflicts, Interests, & Evolution, Margaret B. Drew, Andrew P. Morriss

Andrew P. Morriss

The explosive growth in the number of law school clinics over the last 50 years began with an individual client focus as a core component. This contributed to reducing unmet legal needs in substantive areas such as landlord-tenant, family, consumer and other areas. These service clinics accomplished the dual purpose of training students in the day-to-day challenges of practice while reducing the number of unrepresented poor. In recent years, however, the trend has been to broaden the law school clinical experience beyond individual representation and preparation for law firm practice. So-called “impact” clinics typically address systemic change without significant individual …

Extending Courthouse 'Keys' To Those In Need, Linda L. Ammons

Linda L. Ammons

No abstract provided.

Future Of Legal Aid, Wayne Moore

wayne moore

The Future of Legal Aid

Abstract

This article predicts the future of legal aid in the U.S. It begins by examining the tools other countries use for shaping the future of legal aid and explains why these methods will not work in the U.S. It also acknowledges that changes that require a significant increase in funding are not likely to occur in the foreseeable future. What’s left are methods that allow providers to do more with the resources they have, namely the adoption of systems. The U.S. is currently experiencing a revolution in the use of systems to expand and …

Re-Envisioning Models For Pro Bono Lawyering: Some Historical Reflections, Susan D. Carle

Susan D. Carle

No abstract provided.

As The Twig Is Bent:Law Student Insights Regarding Pro Bono And Public Interest Law, Jan L. Jacobowitz Ms.

Jan L Jacobowitz

No abstract provided.

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status: Problems With Substantive Immigration Law And Guidelines For Improvement, Maria V. Martorell

Maria V Martorell

There is a long-standing tradition in the justice system of recognizing that legal matters involving minors are inherently different, requiring laws to protect children in the courthouse and in society. The juvenile system of justice began in the United States in 1824 and was designed for the benefit of children. The purpose of creating a separate system for juveniles was “(1) to separate children from adult offenders and (2) to rehabilitate” juveniles. Most juvenile courts have exclusive jurisdiction over the majority of cases involving minors, and these are transferred to the adult court system only when it “serve[s] the best …

A New Public Interest Appellate Model: Public Counsel’S Court-Based Self-Help Clinic And Pro Bono “Triage” For Indigent Pro Se Civil Litigants On Appeal, Meehan Rasch

Meehan Rasch

A variety of new “pro se” or “pro bono” appellate programs have been sprouting up around the country in recent years. Courts, bar associations, and legal services and advocacy organizations are implementing these projects to grapple with the challenges raised by increasing numbers of pro se (self-represented) and indigent civil litigants in appellate courts. Judicial operational systems designed on the premise of adequately counseled parties are ill-prepared to handle an influx of self-represented litigants, posing frustrations for both pro se litigants and court personnel. The expansion of pro se litigation strains appellate court resources and staff, but because of the …

Engaging Law Students In Leadership, Faith Rivers James

Faith R Rivers James

The new challenge of legal education is preparing civic-minded lawyers to assume leadership roles in their communities, law firms, the legal profession, and in the public square. Defined as the process of influencing and persuading others to achieve a common purpose, leadership describes the lawyers’ task with individual and organizational clients; considered as a characteristic of people in positions of power, lawyers often assume the mantle of leading organizations. Whether defined as process or position, lawyering involves leadership in the private sector or in the public realm. This article considers the progressive structure of a comprehensive law & leadership program, …

Law Firms Competing On The "Edge Of Chaos": Pro Bono's Role In A Winning Competitive Strategy, Tom Spahn

Tom Spahn

My Article takes an interdisciplinary approach to arguing that robust pro bono practices can give law firms a strategic advantage in the modern economy. I use modern economic theories, from game theory to complexity theory, to consider a pro bono practice’s role in responding to both internal and external competitive pressures. This leads to several key insights, such as pro bono’s ability to offset the dead-weight loss incurred when oligopolistic firms merge, its power to cause a paredo improvement to a firm’s position by moving it away from a non-cooperative Nash equilibrium, and the iterative recombination effect that such a …

Victims, Lawyers, And Money: Legal Representation In The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Brian Bornstein

Brian H Bornstein

We surveyed claimants to the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund about their experiences with legal representation in filing a claim. Most claimants used a lawyer and believed that they received more compensation than they would have without a lawyer. Nearly two-thirds did not pay their attorney, and claimants who paid their lawyer were less satisfied with their outcome. Nearly half of claimants felt pressured to file a claim with the Fund, and they were split on the likely outcome if they had filed a lawsuit instead of going through the Fund. These findings have important implications for public policy and …

Pro Bono In Action: An Immigrant's Need For Representation, Jill E. Family

Jill E. Family

Judicial Diversity On State Supreme Courts, John D. Castiglione, Gregory L. Acquiaviva

John D. Castiglione

State courts of last resort are, in many ways, the primary expositors of law in the United States. Criminal law, contracts, family law, wills, trusts, and estates -- just to name a few -- fall within their purview. And yet, we know surprisingly little about just who sits on these courts -- state supreme court judges have been described as “perhaps the most important and least written about group within the judicial system” of the United States. Indeed, the last study on the characteristics and experiences of the state supreme court justices is almost fifteen years old. This Article presents …

Pro Bono Publico As A Conscience Good, Deborah A. Schmedemann

Deborah Schmedemann

Pro bono work performed by American lawyers serves a critical role in the American civil justice system. This paper seeks to explain pro bono through the lens of social science research into volunteering, in particular the economic concept of a conscience good. The paper presents the results of an empirical study involving over 1,100 law students and lawyers. The results include data on lawyers’ motivations to perform pro bono, the impact of various pro bono rules and invitations to perform pro bono, the satisfactions of pro bono work, emotions triggered by pro bono work and pro bono clients, and the …

Pro Bono Publico As A Conscience Good, Deborah A. Schmedemann

Deborah Schmedemann

Pro bono work performed by American lawyers serves a critical role in the American civil justice system. This paper seeks to explain pro bono through the lens of social science research into volunteering, in particular the economic concept of a conscience good. The paper presents the results of an empirical study involving over 1,100 law students and lawyers. The results include data on lawyers’ motivations to perform pro bono, the impact of various pro bono rules and invitations to perform pro bono, the satisfactions of pro bono work, emotions triggered by pro bono work and pro bono clients, and the …

Happy Law Students, Happy Lawyers, Nancy Levit, Douglas Linder

Nancy Levit

This article draws on research into the science of happiness and asks a series of interrelated questions: Whether law schools can make law students happier? Whether making happier law students will translate into making them happier lawyers, and the accompanying question of whether making law students happier would create better lawyers? After covering the limitations of genetic determinants of happiness and happiness set-points, the article addresses those qualities that happiness research indicates are paramount in creating satisfaction: control, connections, creative challenge (or flow), and comparisons (preferably downward). Those qualities are then applied to legal education, while addressing the larger philosophical …

Time Is Of The Essence: Seize The Opportunity For Fulfillment In 2009, Francine J. Lipman

Francine J. Lipman

Fifty-three percent of workers worldwide surveyed in 2008 reported they would rather work and earn less, but have a happy stress-free fulfilling life. For the 78 million baby boomers and their pre- and post-boom colleagues this desire has resulted in a phenomenon that has been labeled "encore jobs," This essay describes opportunities for fulfillment for tax lawyers, young and not so young, as volunteers and fellows.

Jumping The Hurdles: Establishing Pro Bono Programs In Government Law Offices, John Capowski

John J. Capowski

No abstract provided.