Our civil justice system faces a crisis in terms of access and innovation. Two-thirds of American households have civil legal problems, yet only 16 percent seek or consider seeking a lawyer’s help. Most state court civil cases involve at least one party without a lawyer. People lack ready access to legal advice on issues affecting the most important aspects of their lives, while technological change has enabled the better delivery of many other services ranging from health care to banking.
The vast gulf between need and access requires rethinking how legal services are delivered and regulated. IAALS has helped spark this conversation through its Unlocking Legal Regulation project. To further the discussion, IAALS and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law co-hosted a speaker series—The Future of Legal Services—bringing together perspectives from the legal profession, academia, and state supreme courts—the regulators of legal services.
Event details are available below, including video replays and summaries.
How people access legal services not only profoundly affects justice, but also has important implications for those who study, teach, or practice law. Thank you to everyone who joined us for this stimulating series of talks about changes that can help us move towards the goal of justice for all.
Past Events
On February 26, IAALS co-hosted a discussion with Patricia Lee Refo, President-Elect of the ABA, on how the various proposals for re-regulation of the legal profession could transform the way lawyers practice law—and what both sides of the debate have to say.
On June 25, IAALS co-hosted a discussion with Professor William Henderson on why state supreme courts are best positioned to pioneer new regulatory models that are in the long-term interest of the public.
On August 20, IAALS co-hosted a virtual panel discussion on how legal regulatory reform—and the innovative and diverse ecosystems such reform can create—can help address issues of racial injustice, featuring Rohan Pavuluri (Co-Founder/CEO, Upsolve), Andrea S. Jarmon (Founder, Jarmon Law Group), and Andrew Arruda (Co-Founder/CEO, ROSS Intelligence).
On October 27, IAALS co-hosted a discussion on how programs and regulations in other countries have allowed for a more accessible way for people to access the justice system, featuring Crispin Passmore (Founder/Principle, Passmore Consulting), Will Morrison (Strategic Policy Counsel, Law Society of Ontario), and Abigail Moy (Director, Legal Empowerment Network)—and moderated by David Lat (Founding Editor, Above the Law).
On December 9, IAALS co-hosted a virtual discussion with Dan Rodriguez, former dean of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, on why our balkanized system of professional regulation makes it much more difficult to meet the demand for legal services, and how states can join together and offer more legal services to those in need without opening up the public to the risk of harm.
The series was offered with support from the Business Ethics and Law Program at DU’s Daniels College of Business and the Socio-Legal Studies Program at DU’s College of Arts and Sciences.
