New York

The pandemic has affected our civil justice system in many ways, yet perhaps the most important role access to justice entities can play in the near future is to advocate for the retention of remote access systems for court appearances as well as for the delivery of legal and self-help services.

Alternative dispute resolution is becoming increasingly more prevalent in New York state civil courts, and New York recently announced a renewed commitment to ADR. Legal professionals believe ADR, and in particular mediation, could have a dramatic improvement in some areas of family law, including expediting divorce proceedings and—perhaps most significantly—decreasing the emotional havoc that divorce can wreak on both parties and their children.

This week, former New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, was presented with the first-ever Mary C. McQueen Award for Excellence and Leadership in Justice System Improvement as part of the annual joint conference of the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators.

Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Fern Fisher of the New York City Courts recently addressed the Colorado Supreme Court Advisory Committee and its Limited License Legal Technician (LLLTs) Subcommittee.

New York has set its sights on access to justice and alleviating some of the issues that low-income litigants face needing help from justice system. In his annual State of the Judiciary address on February 17, New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman put forth a number of innovative methods for making the state's judiciary more equitable and accessible.

A family court in New York City recently allowed a father to serve his ex-wife with notice of a child support action via Facebook. The father first attempted to find and contact the mother through all of the traditional means, to no avail. The magistrate allowed the nontraditional service and noted that it was most likely the first of its kind in the country—when both parties are in the United States.

A Netherlands company is headed to New York to establish a "divorce hotel." Couples with uncomplicated divorces can spend a weekend at the hotel to work through the process quickly with mediators and independent lawyers, with the goal of emerging with documentation that a judge can make final. The idea of alternatives to the traditional divorce process are not new in the United States, and continue to expand.

Chief Judge Johnathan Lippman of the New York Court of Appeals has announced a new program designed to allow third-year law students to sit for the bar exam in February, so long as they devote their final semester to pro bono work. Ideally, the program will give indigent clients more access to legal representation, while also helping students gain the practical legal experience needed upon graduation from law school.

The New York State Bar Association is devoting a segment of its annual meeting to two themes that have emerged with increasing urgency in bar associations around the country: "Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers" and "Supporting Today's Lawyers." I'm here in New York to participate in person, but I just learned that you can tune in at 2:00 pm ET to view the full Presidential Summit, which serves as the centerpiece of the NYSBA's week-long annual meeting.

Federal judges in the Southern District of New York are currently evaluating a pilot project, known as the SDNY Pilot § 1983 Plan, that defines how cases alleging false arrest, excessive force, or malicious prosecution are handled against the NYPD. While the project was instituted to address concerns regarding the increasing number of § 1983 cases being filed, and the increasing length of time to bring those cases to disposition, the Court’s request for feedback has resulted in a critical response by the plaintiffs’ bar.