Micah 6:8 (NIV) — from biblegateway.com
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your God.
On 01/08/2021,
in Access to Justice (A2J), Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, ethics, Europe, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, India, law schools, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, relationships, religion, society, UK, United States,
by Daniel Christian
On 12/19/2020,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), Canada, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, law schools, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, online learning, pace of change, remote teaching and learning, society, staying relevant, telelegal, trends, United States, universities, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
Online learning and law schools during the pandemic — from tonybates.ca by Tony Bates
Excerpt:
Pre-Covid, law schools and especially law accrediting agencies in North America have been pretty conservative in the past with regard to online or more accurately distance learning (see Online education and the professional associations: the case of law, for more details on the situation in 2018).
We can then fairly safely assume that most of these schools would have had no or little prior experience of online learning before March of this year. So it is interesting that 89% of students in law schools in the USA responding to a Thomson Reuters survey reported that during Covid-19 they were taking classes entirely online.
…
However, for me the most interesting results are in the graph below:
Preferences for permanent changes
It seems clear that at least some level of online instruction will continue in the future, and that online learning will become widespread for at least some types of classes.
Given that there was almost no online learning in law schools in the USA pre-Covid 19, this is a significant conclusion.
From DSC:
I appreciate Tony writing about this topic. He’s correct in saying the ABA and the legal education field — along with the entire legal realm — was behind the 8 ball in terms of online learning (and I would add the use of emerging technologies in general). In fact, I’d say that the ABA was essentially twenty years behind in terms of getting on board the online learning train. It still has a ways to go…but the pressure is on the ABA to get with the times. Our society requires that they do so. The pace of change has been changing for a decade or more now. They can no longer walk on the race track and hope to not get in the way of a world that’s traveling at 180 mph.
Make no mistake, if the ABA — and the legal field in general — continues at their previous pace, we all will pay the price. Consider but a few areas that are already having an impact on our society:
- #AI #blockchain #XR #AR #MR #VR #robotics #bots #algorithms #ethics #BigData #learningagents #legaltech #NLP #emergingtechnologies
Along with other tags that apply here:
- #stayingrelevant #reinvent #vision #leadership #strategy #A2J (Access to Justice)
On 12/07/2020,
in Access to Justice (A2J), health, law schools, leadership, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, policy, political science, society, surviving, telelegal, United States, vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Logging in to get kicked out: Inside America’s virtual eviction crisis — from technologyreview.com by Eileen Guo
Excerpts:
An unprecedented, imperfect moratorium
Before the pandemic, an average of 3.6 million Americans lost their homes to evictions every year, according to Princeton University’s Eviction Lab. By the end of 2020, this number could increase exponentially, with one report from the Aspen Institute estimating that, without further federal aid, between 30 to 40 million people may be at risk of eviction in the next several months. The financial hardship exacerbated by covid-19 has left many in a precarious situation.
.
Legal aid attorneys chart course for 2021 after spike in demand — from law360.com by Justin Wise
Excerpts: (emphasis DSC)
The coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn it caused sparked a massive spike in demand for legal aid services from America’s most marginalized communities, leaving a field already under-resourced facing even greater strain in 2020.
At the same time, many organizations had to close their offices in the spring and significantly reduce in-person communication with clients to comply with health guidelines. It all amounted to a “pretty crushing” year in which attorneys transitioned to a primarily remote operation with new channels including a COVID-19 legal intake line, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Executive Director Laura Tuggle said.
Tuggle said 3 in 4 of the calls on the SLLS hotline are from people seeking assistance on matters relating to housing and evictions. Overall, the group has had a 300% increase in eviction cases this year. It also had a 600% increase in unemployment assistance cases in the first few months of the pandemic.
“The most pressing legal need America faces as we enter 2021 is the tsunami of potential evictions that threaten the millions of people who have lost jobs during the pandemic,” LSC Executive Director Ronald Flagg said, pointing to a study showing that evictions can cause increases in COVID-19 cases and deaths.
A potential nightmare is coming down the pike: Massive # of evictions — which will further exacerbate the Covid19 crisis (at minimum).
DC: How can #highereducation help people reinvent themselves quickly and affordably?#learningfromthelivingclassroom https://t.co/TV5InkWHwn pic.twitter.com/5OgplxXuMO
— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) December 7, 2020
Addendum on 12/9/20:
- Black households face greater financial devastation due to COVID-19 shutdowns — from bigthink.com by Molly Hanson
New research spotlights how low-income Black households face greater financial distress and vulnerability as a result of the pandemic economic crisis.
On 12/04/2020,
in Access to Justice (A2J), adjunct faculty, Amazon, Apple, business, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, culture, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, economics, education, education reform, education technology, ethics, Facebook / Meta Platforms, faculty, faith, funding / grants, future, future of higher education, geography / geology, Google, health, higher education, history, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, legislatures / government / legal, lifelong learning, Michigan, Microsoft, mobile technologies, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, morals/values, new media literacies, online learning, platforms, policy, remote teaching and learning, society, student-related, surviving, technologies for your home, telecommunications, ubiquitous learning, United States, universities, vendors, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, youth,
by Daniel Christian
The Digital Divide for Tribal College Students — COVID, CARES Act, and Critical Next Steps — from diverseeducation.com
Excerpt:
In this episode staff writer Sara Weissman shares a story that focuses on the digital divide for Native Americans by bringing in voices of tribal college leaders and their students during the COVID 19 pandemic.
Many don’t know but Native American colleges and universities have long struggled with the worst internet connectivity in the nation while ironically paying the highest rates for service. Hear first-hand how students from Diné College and other institutions are currently affected. Carrie Billie (Big Water Clan), President & CEO of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) and Dr. Cynthia Lindquist (Star Horse Woman), President of Cankdeska Cikana Community College in North Dakota, break down the data and lay out critical next steps necessary to address the digital divide.
Many don’t know but Native American colleges and universities have long struggled with the worst internet connectivity in the nation while ironically paying the highest rates for service.
From DSC:
When will there be justice!? Let’s join in and make amends and provide the funding, concrete assistance, products, and services to Native American colleges, universities, and communities. Some potential ideas:
- For the short term, could there be Loon balloons deployed immediately to provide free and stronger access to the Internet?
- Could our Federal Government make amends and do the right thing here? (e-rate program, put Internet access in, make policy changes, offer more grants, other?)
- Could Silicon Valley assist with hardware and software? For example:
- Can Apple, HP, Microsoft, and others donate hardware and software?
- Can Zoom, Adobe, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams, and others donate whatever these communities need to provide videoconferencing licenses?
- Could telecom providers provide free internet access?
- Could MOOCs offer more free courses?
- Could furniture makers such as Steelcase, Herman Miller, and others donate furniture and help establish connected learning spaces?
- How might faculty members and staff within higher education contribute?
- How could churches, synagogues, and such get involved?
- Could the rest of us locate and donate to charities that aim to provide concrete assistance to Native American schools, colleges, universities, and communities?
We need to do the right thing here. This is another area* where our nation can do much better.
* Here’s another example/area where we can do much better and make amends/changes.
Addendum on 12/7/20:
- How to Implement Long-Term Remote Learning in a Rural Area— from techlearning.com by Ray Bendici
On 12/03/2020,
in 21st century, Access to Justice (A2J), law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, reinvent, society, sociology, surviving, telelegal, United States,
by Daniel Christian
America has a civil justice gap, and the #eviction crisis will only serve to widen the gap. How can we improve #accesstojustice for all Americans? A new @americanacad report has recommendations. https://t.co/q16p3QVnXH pic.twitter.com/xLFExsSv9O
— American Academy of Arts & Sciences (@americanacad) October 22, 2020
A New Report and Recommendations: Civil Justice for All — from amacad.org (the American Academy of Arts & Sciences)
Also see:
- Expiring Eviction Moratoriums and COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality — from papers.ssrn.com by Kathryn Leifheit, Sabriya Linton, Julia Raifman, Gabriel Schwartz, Emily Benfer, Frederick Zimmerman, and Craig Pollack
Excerpt of Abstract:
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic crisis has rendered millions of U.S. households unable to pay rent, placing them at risk for eviction. Evictions may accelerate COVID-19 transmission by increasing household crowding and decreasing individuals’ ability to comply with social distancing directives. We leveraged variation in the expiration of eviction moratoriums in U.S. states to test for associations between evictions and COVID-19 incidence and mortality.
On 11/23/2020,
in Access to Justice (A2J), budgets, Cost of legal services - including access, law schools, leadership, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, telelegal, United States, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
State Court Budget Forecast: Stormy with Rising Backlogs — from law360.com by Andrew Strickler
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):
As state lawmakers begin preparing for upcoming legislative sessions amid a resurgent pandemic, a scattered but largely grim outlook for state court funding is beginning to take shape.
With some judicial administrators already dealing with staggered budgets and new technology costs, experts and advocates say court leaders have their work cut out for them to convince budget analysts and lawmakers to pay for pandemic recovery efforts.
Perhaps nowhere is the coming financial strain more apparent than in Florida, where legislators began gathering Tuesday in Tallahassee to face a historic $5.4 billion budget deficit over the next two years.
There, court leaders have drawn on their experiences dealing with a crush of foreclosures and other litigation following the 2008 financial crisis to project that nearly 1 million additional cases will be in front of the state’s trial courts by the middle of 2021.
…
In New York, where the next fiscal year promises to include a gaping $14.5 billion budget hole, dozens of appellate judges over age 70 are being forced into retirement, a move court administrators said would save $55 million in the coming years and help prevent staff layoffs.
Addendum on 11/24/20:
The recordings of every Civil Justice Fest webinar are now available! Visit https://t.co/TCyoXN26aj to start watching, and keep an eye out for the #12DaysofCivilJustice beginning this Friday! pic.twitter.com/SEW0Ll6glj
— MasonLEC (@MasonLEC) November 24, 2020
Civil Justice Fest: A Month of Dialogues On the Most Pressing Civil Justice Issues — from vimeo.com
Judicial Education Program & Congressional Civil Justice Academy Law & Economics Center Antonin Scalia Law School George Mason University November 2020 Virtual
On 11/05/2020,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Access to Justice (A2J), law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, technologies for your home, telelegal, tools, vendors, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
How to Work Remotely as a Lawyer: A Guide — from clio.com by Teresa Matich; with thanks to Nelson Miller for this resource
Excerpt:
Whether you’ve looked at working remotely as a lawyer in the past (or as a paralegal, legal assistant, legal professional) with dreams of traveling the world, or whether you’re looking into it for the first time now, this guide contains clear, practical tips for opening a remote legal practice without interruption. We’ll cover:
- 10 steps to follow for successful remote work
- What to do if you still need to meet clients in person
- Tips for how larger legal teams can succeed when transitioning to remote work
- A basic list of tools to use for remote lawyering
- Examples of law firms that have worked remotely in some capacity (or are currently doing so)
On 10/30/2020,
in Access to Justice (A2J), law schools, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, productivity / tips and tricks, society, telelegal, tools, United States, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Illinois Supreme Court Issues Pandemic-Related Court Orders, Expands Criminal Appeals Pro Bono Program — from legaltechmonitor.com by Laura Bagby
Excerpt:
The Order on Remote Jury Selection in Civil Matters permits circuits to conduct jury selection in civil cases via video conference. This expands upon rules that were amended in May to support the use of remote hearings.
On 10/14/2020,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, Cost of legal services - including access, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, society, staying relevant, technology (general), telelegal, tools, United States,
by Daniel Christian
On LawNext: Rocket Lawyer Founder Charley Moore — from lawsitesblog.com by Bob Ambrogi; with thanks to Gabe Teninbaum for this resource from his Lawtomatic Newsletter
Excerpt
In September, Rocket Lawyer became the first national company approved to participate in Utah’s regulatory sandbox, a pilot program for licensing new and alternative forms of legal providers and services. For Charley Moore, who founded Rocket Lawyer in 2008, it was yet another step in his quest to deliver high-value legal services at an affordable price.
…
In this episode of LawNext, Moore recounts the founding and development of Rocket Lawyer and its expansion into Europe starting in 2012. He also explains why he wanted the company to participate in the Utah sandbox and what he expects to happen there. Finally, as one of the few Black CEOs in legal tech, Moore discusses his thoughts on expanding diversity in the industry.
Also see:
Also from Gabe, see:
Justice-as-a-Service — from Henrik Zillmer
Excerpts:
There’s a new wave of customer empowerment coming. It’s called Justice-as-a-Service (JaaS), and you need to know about it because it benefits you – you just don’t know it yet.
Justice-as-a-Service is an on-demand service, powered by tech, that challenges private and public companies by representing the consumer in their fight for justice/compensation based on laws, consumers’ rights, and contract of carriage.
Why is there a need for JaaS?
- You don’t know your consumer rights.
- You don’t know how to claim and neither does the service provider.
- You don’t have the time to fight for your rights.
- Success is very unlikely.
On 10/10/2020,
in 21st century, Access to Justice (A2J), innovation, law schools, leadership, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, Michigan, society, United States,
by Daniel Christian
The justice gap in the United States is striking. It ranks 103rd out of 126 countries in accessibility and affordability of civil legal services, according to a World Justice Project survey. More than 80% of those in poverty, as well as a majority of middle-income Americans, receive inadequate civil legal assistance, the nonprofit Legal Services Corporation found.
From DSC:
If the public doesn’t have access to justice — and the majority of those involved with civil-based law cases (vs. criminal law cases) don’t — the system has failed. Throughout the last several years, I have thought about the topic of access to justice (#A2J) many times on my walks past the Michigan Hall of Justice building in Lansing, Michigan.
I am hoping that a variety of technologies can help address this problem — at least in part. The impact of the Covid19 pandemic is pushing us in the right direction, but it never should have taken that horrendous event to occur in order for such innovations and changes to take root.
6 “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.
Also see:
- Scripture passages dealing with the topic of justice — from BibleGateway.com
- Measuring the Justice Gap — from worldjusticeproject.org
- Legal Technology and Access to Justice — from cicerosoftware.com
- The “Access to Justice” category on this blog, Learning Ecosystems
On 10/01/2020,
in Access to Justice (A2J), law schools, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, Michigan, society, United States,
by Daniel Christian
WMU-Cooley Innocence Project helps earn release of Lacino Hamilton after 26 years in prison — from cooley.edu and WMU-Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project
Excerpt:
Today, Wayne County Judge Tracy Green set aside the conviction of Lacino Hamilton who was wrongfully convicted of second degree murder and felony firearms in 1994. DNA testing facilitated by the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Innocence Project was used to help win Hamilton’s release. Assistant Prosecutor Valerie Newman, director of the Wayne County Prosecutor Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit, moved to have Hamilton’s conviction vacated and requested dismissal of all charges. The motion was joined by Hamilton’s legal counsel, Mary Chartier (Johnson Class, 2002) and Takura Nyamfukudza (Moore Class, 2013) of CN Defenders. Both are WMU-Cooley law graduates and well-respected defense attorneys.
On 09/29/2020,
in Access to Justice (A2J), collaboration, ideas, innovation, law schools, leadership, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, productivity / tips and tricks, society, technology (general), tools, United States, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Civil Justice for All — from amacad.org
Excerpts:
This report calls for the legal profession, the courts, law schools, tech professionals, and partners from many other fields and disciplines to coordinate their efforts to provide necessary legal assistance to many more people in need. Past efforts to improve access to justice offer strong evidence that such an effort would have a profound effect on American society—measured in financial savings, greater trust in law and social institutions, and the safety and security of families and communities.
THE PROJECT’S SEVEN RECOMMENDATIONS ARE:
First, and above all, dedicate a consequential infusion of financial and human resources to closing the civil justice gap, and seek a significant shift in mindset—extending beyond lawyers the duty and capacity to assist those with legal need—to make genuine strides toward “justice for all”;
Second, increase the number of legal services lawyers who focus on the needs of low-income Americans;
Third, increase the number of lawyers providing pro bono and other volunteer assistance, to supplement the corps of legal services lawyers;
Fourth, bring many new advocates—service providers who are not lawyers—into the effort to solve civil justice problems;
Fifth, foster greater collaboration among legal services providers and other trusted professionals—such as doctors, nurses, and social workers;
Sixth, expand efforts to make legal systems easier to understand and use through the simplification of language, forms, and procedures and the wider use of technology; and
Seventh, create a national team, or even a new national organization, to coordinate the efforts listed above, collect much-needed data on the state of civil justice, and help identify and publicize effective innovations that improve access.
On 09/22/2020,
in Access to Justice (A2J), culture, law schools, leadership, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, Michigan, society, United States,
by Daniel Christian
WMU-Cooley Named Top 10 Law School For Ethnic Enrollment in 2019 — from fox47news.com
Excerpt:
LANSING, Mich. — Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, with campuses in Michigan and Florida, was named a top 10 law school for racial and ethnic minority enrollment in 2019 by Enjuris, a collection of independent legal resources for legal professionals.
With Black students comprising 22.4 percent of WMU-Cooley’s total student enrollment in 2019, the law school is ranked in Enjuris’ recently released, Law School Enrollment by Race & Ethnicity (2019) [enjuris.com] report.
On 09/22/2020,
in 21st century, Access to Justice (A2J), Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, change, collaboration, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, experimentation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, United States, using teams, vision/possibilities, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Will Pandemic Disruption Drive More Legal Operations Transformation? — from prnewswire.com
Deloitte Releases 2020 Legal Operations Survey
Excerpt:
NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — While 86% of in-house counsel surveyed said they see opportunity to modernize legal services provided to their stakeholders, Deloitte’s “2020 Legal Operations Survey” found that challenges remain. Respondents described their corporate legal departments’ maturity level for technology as just “foundational.”
Ashley Smith, Deloitte Risk & Financial Advisory managing director, Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP said, “Organizations everywhere have undergone massive change as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic uncertainties. As business strategies shift and the corporate legal department is called on to do more to help organizations navigate through disruption, focusing on legal operations transformation could help in-house counsel and their teams to evolve beyond heavy manual, tactical work – into leveraging technology to offer more strategic insights and value.”
Also see:
On 09/21/2020,
in Access to Justice (A2J), law schools, legal reform, legislatures / government / legal, society, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Champion Of Gender Equality, Dies At 87 — from npr.org
by Nina Totenberg
Excerpt:
“Our nation has lost a justice of historic stature,” Chief Justice John Roberts said. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her, a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”
Architect of the legal fight for women’s rights in the 1970s, Ginsburg subsequently served 27 years on the nation’s highest court, becoming its most prominent member.
UNITED STATES – JANUARY 20: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg arrives for President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address in the Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
RBG’s Biggest Opinions, From Civil Rights To Civil Procedure — from law360.com by Cara Bayles
Excerpt:
But from the early years of her tenure on the high court, the justice, who died Friday at age 87, wrote majority decisions that showed her breadth as a lawyer and a thoughtful scholar, who gently guided the reader to her conclusion using evidence and careful, persuasive argument.
“She strongly believed that if you disagree with people, you have to convince them with the strength of your position,” said Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP appellate attorney Tiffany Wright, who clerked for Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “Her majority opinions are less fiery, but very much RBG.”
But she was also “a lawyer’s lawyer — precise, analytical, and evenhanded,” according to Joseph Palmore, her former clerk and a former assistant to the solicitor general who now co-chairs Morrison & Foerster LLP’s appellate practice. She loved even the more granular rules of litigation.
Women Lawyers Share Lessons They Learned From Ruth Bader Ginsburg — from abovethelaw.com by Staci Zaretsky
The Notorious RBG changed women’s lives and law practices across America.
Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Early Career — from abovethelaw.com by Kathryn Rubino
Impressive, even from the start.