Redesigning Legal: Improving Access to Courts and Judges

As part of our Redesigning Legal Speaker Series, on October 6 IAALS and its partners explored innovation in access to courts and judges—from nonlawyer representation in the courtroom to virtual hearings to venturing outside the courthouse and into the community.

Access to courts is growing in innovative ways. Some courts have continued the pandemic trend of allowing more virtual hearings, and some judges have even ventured outside the courthouse to help self-represented litigants resolve legal matters—even doing so on a kayak in the river! Meanwhile, a growing number of jurisdictions are extending the right to counsel beyond just criminal matters (for example, in eviction cases), and other jurisdictions are contemplating expanding non-lawyer representation in the courtroom.