Every year as the summer draws to a close, there is a gathering of the access to justice (ATJ) community from across Tennessee in Murfreesboro. The Equal Justice University (EJU) presented by the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS), is not only a few days of excellent presentations, it is a celebration of an ideal.

The theme of this year’s conference was Amplifying Access to Justice, and I was honored to be asked to be the luncheon speaker to explore what the future of amplifying access to justice might look like.

“Amplifying access to justice” refers to the efforts and initiatives aimed at making legal services and remedies more available and accessible to all individuals, particularly those who might face barriers in navigating the legal system. This concept recognizes that a fair and just society requires that everyone has the ability to exercise their legal rights and seek redress for grievances, regardless of their socioeconomic status, background or other factors that might limit their access.

Let’s define the problem: Low-income Americans do not get any or enough legal help for 92% of their substantial civil legal problems. They do not get any or enough legal help for 92% of the problems that have had a substantial impact on them. Low-income individuals approach Legal Services Corporation-funded (LSC) organizations for help with an estimated 1.9 million civil legal problems in a year. These organizations must turn away one out of every two (49%) requests they receive due to limited resources.

So what are some possible approaches and strategies to examine to try to correct this imbalance? Under the current model, Legal Aid and pro bono services provide free or low-cost legal assistance to individuals who cannot afford private legal representation. Legal aid organizations and pro bono services recruit lawyers to offer their expertise to individuals and groups in need. But this alone will never meet the need. Justice Deno Himonas of the Utah Supreme Court summed up the need for innovative solutions in the face of America’s access to justice crisis as follows, “We cannot volunteer ourselves across the access to justice gap. We have spent billions of dollars trying this approach. It hasn’t worked. What is needed is a market-based approach that simultaneously respects and protects consumer needs.”

Leveraging technology to deliver legal information, self-help tools and virtual consultations can greatly enhance access to justice. Online platforms, chatbots and apps can help people understand their legal rights and responsibilities without needing to visit a physical location. Here in Tennessee, under the leadership of Past TBA President Buck Lewis, we developed Free Legal Answers which is now available across the country.

Educating communities about their legal rights, responsibilities and available legal resources can empower individuals to navigate legal issues more effectively. Workshops, seminars and informational campaigns can demystify the legal system.

Streamlining legal procedures and making legal documents more understandable can reduce the complexity of engaging with the legal system, particularly for those without legal training.

Promoting mediation, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods can provide faster and more cost-effective ways to resolve disputes outside of the courtroom.

Bringing legal services to underserved or remote areas through mobile legal clinics can help bridge the gap between legal professionals and people who lack access to legal assistance. In Tennessee, we have the Access to Justice Commission’s Justice Bus to bring legal help to people where they live.

In October 2019, a task force in Arizona studying innovative solutions released its report and recommendations. Most notably, the panel called for the elimination of Arizona Rule of Professional Conduct 5.4, which bars non-lawyers from having an economic interest in a law firm or participating in attorney fee-sharing. The task force also recommended the development of a tier of non-lawyer legal services providers who could offer some legal assistance to clients, including court representation.

The taskforce wrote, “The legal profession cannot continue to pretend that lawyers operate in a vacuum, surrounded and aided only by other lawyers, or that lawyers practice law in a hierarchy in which only lawyers should be owners.” They continued, “Nonlawyers are instrumental in helping lawyers deliver legal services, and they bring valuable skills to the table.”

In 2020, Utah introduced a groundbreaking regulatory sandbox that allows non-traditional legal service providers, such as legal technology companies, to test innovative legal service models without running afoul of the state’s unauthorized practice of law rules. This encourages the development of new approaches to providing legal assistance.

Both Utah and Arizona have been at the forefront of implementing innovative approaches to increase access to justice, and their initiatives have garnered attention for their potential to reshape the legal landscape. By studying the innovations underway in these and other states to amplify access to justice, and by examining the results they have achieved, we can move closer to achieving a more equitable legal system here in Tennessee where all individuals have the opportunity to seek justice and protection under the law. |||

JIM BARRY is retired from his position as chief counsel for corporate litigation for the International Paper Company. In 2016 he was honored with the Janice M. Holder Award from the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services for his contributions in advancing the quality of justice statewide by ensuring the legal system is open and available to all. He is a co-founder of TBA’s Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Initiative and a graduate of the University of Richmond School of Law.