Author Archives

• Poverty Warriors: A Historical Perspective on the Mission of Legal Services

  By NLADA on March 3, 2020 • ( 0 )

  The current push for “access to justice” and “Civil Gideon” strays from that original mission by focusing on individual legal problems that do not target the underlying causes of poverty.

• Medical-Legal Partnership: Evolution or Revolution

  By NLADA on March 3, 2020 • ( 0 )

  They examine why so many lawyers–especially those associated with legal aid, law schools, the private bar, and hospital general counsel–are collaborating with health care providers to deliver health-promoting legal services to low-income persons.

• Keeping Families Together, Saving Money, and Other Motivations behind New Civil Right to Counsel Laws

  By NLADA on March 3, 2020 • ( 0 )

  Civil right to counsel legislation may be more likely to succeed if it is part of broader legislation aimed at solving a social problem than if it is proposed as a stand-alone bill that lacks the same level of support. Review of laws passed in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Montana, New York, and Texas.

• Grounds for Objection: Causes and Consequences of America’s Pro Se Crisis and How to Solve the Problem of Unrepresented Litigants

  By NLADA on March 3, 2020 • ( 0 )

  This is one of several papers commissioned by CAP’s Doing What Works project to explore the persistent gap between the legal needs of low-income people and capacity of the civil legal assistance system to meet those needs.

• The Justice Gap: Civil Legal Assistance Today and Tomorrow

  By NLADA on March 3, 2020 • ( 0 )

  This report describes the state of civil legal services today and how we got here. It also recommends more funding and better service delivery.

• Managing Pro Bono: Doing Well by Doing Better

  By NLADA on March 3, 2020 • ( 0 )

  This article provides the first systematic look at the professionalization of pro bono programs in large firms and the challenges they face in the current economic climate. It draws upon a survey of large-firm pro bono counsel conducted in 2009.

• The Importance of Representation in Eviction Cases and Homelessness Prevention

  By NLADA on March 3, 2020 • ( 0 )

  Two randomized pilot projects in Massachusetts in 2009 involving eviction cases showed prevented evictions, protected the rights of tenants, and maintained shelter in a high rate of cases.

• Access Across America: First Report of the Civil Justice Infrastructure Mapping Project

  By NLADA on March 3, 2020 • ( 0 )

  Access Across America is the first-ever state-by-state portrait of the services available to assist the U.S. public in accessing civil justice. The report documents, for the nation as a whole and individually for the states who is eligible for assistance and how it is delivered, funded, coordinated and regulated.

• Access to Evidence: How an Evidence-Based Delivery System Can Improve Legal Aid for Low- and Moderate-Income America

  By NLADA on March 3, 2020 • ( 0 )

  By encouraging evidence-based approaches in civil legal assistance, the federal government can help service providers target resources more efficiently.

• Connecting Self-Representation to Civil Gideon: What Existing Data Reveal About When Counsel is Most Needed

  By NLADA on March 3, 2020 • ( 0 )

  This reviews existing reports reveals a correlation between representation and success rates in court. It finds that this is especially true when the litigant faces a power imbalance and when the litigant’s advocate is skilled and has relevant knowledge.