Lawyers Council Explores Legal Innovation with Arizona Chief Justice Timmer

On September 16, members of the IAALS Lawyers Council gathered in downtown Denver to discuss the growing momentum of alternative business structures with Arizona Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer and Jess Bednarz, IAALS’ Director of Legal Services and the Profession.  

Arizona is on the frontlines of this movement, and Chief Justice Timmer talked about how alternative business structures have led to meaningful innovations in how lawyers in Arizona provide legal services.

Chief Justice Timmer credits a culture of innovation in Arizona for providing the ability for lawyers and businesses to try new ways of delivering legal services. She emphasized that lawyers are still at the heart of the practice of law in these alternative business structures, and that the structures allow lawyers to have added resources to innovate and reach more clients. This creativity has led to businesses and innovations that make the legal system easier to access, like financial planners and lawyers combining businesses or an app that helps people start the process of expunging criminal records.

IAALS has been advocating for more states to explore regulatory innovations like alternative business structures, and Bednarz discussed IAALS’ work across the spectrum of legal regulation. This discussion touched on IAALS’ work with Utah’s legal regulatory sandbox, which allows nontraditional providers and business structures to provide legal services to a wide variety of clients who might otherwise never get legal help. Chief Justice Timmer and Bednarz discussed the benefits and challenges of establishing a regulatory framework that allows for innovation while ensuring there is no consumer harm or unethical practice of law.  

The convening provided members of the Lawyers Council with a clearer picture of what alternative business structures could look like in their practices and states, and connected them with like-minded individuals who are aiming to innovate and learn. IAALS is proud to gather and collaborate with this group throughout the year to further discussions and solutions on how to increase access to justice. The support of the Lawyers Council allows IAALS to continue to do the work that turns these ideas into action and positive change for our justice system nationwide.