In a District Court in Massachusetts, researchers randomly selected tenants facing eviction to receive full representation or limited, unbundled assistance. They find there are better results if tenants were offered full representation. Further, the offer did not increase court burdens.
Researchers and Academics
Documenting the Justice Gap In America: The Current Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-Income Americans
This 2007 report is the second edition of the LSC report originally released in 2005 showing a substantial justice gap for low-income persons seeking legal help with civil legal problems.
Hotline Outcomes Assessment Study – Phase I (1999)
Phase I of the Hotline Outcomes Assessment Study involved detailed qualitative interviews with managers and directors of 44 legal hotlines and an analysis of caseload patterns for 16 programs that appear to have relatively stable pre- and post-hotline environments.
Legal Services to the Poor and Disadvantaged in the 1980s: The Issue for Research
Contains a great synopsis of LSC research done up to 1982, and outlines research issues for the future.
Service Delivery, Resource Allocation, and Access to Justice: Greiner and Pattanayak and the Research Imperative
This article is a response to the study “Randomized Evaluation in Legal Assistance: What Difference Does Representation (Offer and Actual Use) Make?” by Greiner and Pattanayak in Yale Law Journal on July 29, 2011. The authors seek to reaffirm the study’s importance in light of critiques from the legal community.
Expanding the Empirical Study of Access to Justice
By viewing access to justice as a universal need, rather than that of just the poor, research will be able to better identify the legal aid most needed, and lawyers will be able to provide the most effective representation.
Child Support Fact Sheet Series: Access to Justice Innovations
By: US Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement. Published in: June 2012 Link to resource Link to PDF This US Health and Human Services fact sheet identifies access to justice innovations as a critical component… Read More ›
2017 LSC Justice Gap Report
The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago to help measure the justice gap among low-income Americans in 2017. LSC defines the justice gap as the difference between the civil legal needs of low-income Americans and the resources available to meet those needs.
The Financial Cost and Benefits of Establishing a Right to Counsel in Eviction Proceedings Under Intro 214-A
Stout Risius Ross, Inc. conducted a cost / benefit analyses regarding the cost of City Council Intro 214-A, legislation that would establish a right to counsel in housing cases. The report concludes that New York City would realize a benefit from Intro 214-A of $320 million annually.
The Opioid Crisis In America & the Role Medical-Legal Partnership Can Play In Recovery
This issue brief by the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership supports the need for legal services in addressing the non-medical issues for legal clients with substance use disorders(SUD)on their road to recovery. Citing case studies of existing recovery-based MLPs in Ohio, Indiana, and Nevada, this paper provides a well-supported argument for the impact of lawyers as significant actors in combating the ongoing opioid crisis.
Legal Aid Research 