Unlocking Legal Regulation

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 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.

2020 revealed that most of us are swimming naked when it comes to our ability to meaningfully access our justice system. 2020 certainly exacerbated issues, but its true effect and power was revealing our society’s not-so-secret dirty secrets: systemic racism, growing income inequality, the failing U.S. healthcare system, and a justice system that only serves a small minority of Americans.

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.

On October 27, IAALS and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law co-hosted a virtual discussion featuring Crispin Passmore, Will Morrison, and Abigail Moy—moderated by David Lat—who addressed how legal regulations in other countries have allowed for greater accessibility to the justice system and increased innovation among service providers.

The legal profession is fraught with systemic barriers to entry that form ripple effects on the road to becoming a lawyer. The pathway is much like narrow pipeline—entry is limited and every segment is springing leaks, disproportionately affecting people of color along the way—creating a profession that is among the least diverse in the country.