News & Updates

In Utah, victims of domestic violence and stalking who cannot afford or otherwise don’t want to hire a lawyer are now able to seek the help of victim advocates. These advocates are permitted to provide certain legal advice, which was solely the purview of lawyers before the state's regulatory sandbox opened.

After a year of collaboration and innovation, IAALS Board of Advisors member Andrew Arruda has completed his term as our first entrepreneur-in-residence. We are deeply grateful to Arruda for his tireless work and invaluable expertise over this past year—and for everything he’s done to move our mission forward.

Earlier this month, IAALS submitted several comments in support of a proposed paraprofessional licensing program in California. Under the proposed plan, paraprofessionals would be thoroughly qualified for the job by completing the rigorous requirements for licensure. IAALS refutes the assertion that paraprofessionals would pose a risk to consumers.

In December, IAALS and its partners continued the Redesigning Legal Speaker Series with a panel exploring the opportunities being created by regulatory innovation for legal education.

This comment was submitted to the State Bar of California in support of the proposed Paraprofessional Program, which would authorize paraprofessionals to provide legal advice in areas such as family, consumer debt, landlord/tenant, employment/income, and collateral criminal cases, as well as represent parties in court (excluding jury trials).

Lawmakers in California recently spoke out against the state bar's exploration of regulatory reform as a means to address the access-to-justice crisis. However, the need for efficient and affordable legal services is growing exponentially—and data suggests that legal services innovation could a key part of the solution.

From conversations with legal reformers in many states, the idea of establishing a regulatory sandbox seems extreme. The reality is, though, that these initiatives are not as aggressive as they might seem—and in fact, state courts have been using similar reform tools for a very long time. 

Despite trepidation from some in the legal community around the idea of nonlawyers providing legal services, newly released data from Utah's sandbox proves those fears unfounded—and that, in fact, the opposite is true. Sandbox providers are bringing a variety of safe legal services to thousands of consumers.

In August, IAALS and its partners continued the Redesigning Legal Speaker Series with a panel exploring how lawyers and other legal professionals can help to solve access-to-justice problems using new advances in technology—while building sustainable practices at the same time.

In June, the Special Committee to Improve the Delivery of Legal Services submitted its final report to the Florida Supreme Court, recommending that Florida adopt a Law Practice Innovation Laboratory Program where recommendations, such as amended rules surrounding fee-splitting and law firm ownership as well as regulated nonlawyer providers of limited legal services, would be tested and evaluated.

This month, IAALS and its partners kicked off the Redesigning Legal Speaker Series with a panel exploring how judicial leadership can play a critical role in expanding access to legal services and access to justice. The panelists discussed the status of regulatory innovation, how courts and others are seeking to address the problems, and why state supreme courts and the organized bar must start forging solutions now.

The Chicago Bar Foundation has put together a new toolkit for Illinois attorneys who would like to offer unbundled legal services to potential clients with civil matters in trial court. The toolkit helps attorneys to determine whether or not a litigant is a good candidate for bundling, provides attorneys with talking points, and contains other practical materials.

Andrew Arruda has joined IAALS as its first-ever entrepreneur-in-residence. Arruda is initially focusing on the organization’s legal education and legal profession efforts, including the Unlocking Legal Regulation and Foundations for Practice projects.

The last twelve months have been an unforgettable crucible. At IAALS, we have taken a hard look at our work and what it will take to build a better legal system for everyone. Our 2020 Annual Report illustrates our ability to foster the change we need—and our capacity to do even more.

Earlier this year, Arizona began training people to give limited legal advice on civil matters stemming from domestic violence. These advocates, the first of their kind in the state, are learning to provide legal advice on topics such as protective orders, divorce, child custody, consumer protection, and housing.

The future of our justice system will depend on a new model for leadership among the judiciary, including proactive engagement of the issues, multidisciplinary approach to solutions, innovative and creative thinking, data-informed policy making, and the courage and vision to get ahead of problems and explore new solutions—all directed towards being responsive as possible to the needs of the people.

IAALS has announced that Utah Supreme Court Justice Deno Himonas and Utah attorney John Lund are the recipients of the organization’s 2021 Rebuilding Justice Award. IAALS is proud to recognize the achievements of Himonas and Lund for their efforts in founding Utah’s Office of Legal Services Innovation.

On December 9, IAALS and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law 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. 

Earlier this year, Paula Littlewood was a guest on ABA Journal’s Legal Rebels podcast where she spoke about how she came to be an advocate for re-regulation, the need for lawyers to engage the public when it comes to regulatory changes, and Washington’s pioneering limited legal license technician program.

It’s time that the delivery of legal services reflected the reality of innovation and progress we see in every other field—medical, financial, engineering, and everything in between—giving everyone greater access to legal services.