Proposed Resolution:
The following resolution is proposed for consideration by the ABA House of Delegates at the 2020 ABA Midyear Meeting in Austin, Texas.
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
CENTER FOR INNOVATION
STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE DELIVERY OF LEGAL SERVICES
STANDING COMMITTEE ON ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
STANDING COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL REGULATION
STANDING COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROTECTION IN THE PROVISION OF LEGAL
SERVICES
REPORT TO THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES
RESOLUTION
RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association encourages U.S. jurisdictions to consider innovative approaches to the access to justice crisis in order to help the more than 80% of people below the poverty line and the majority of middle-income Americans who lack meaningful access to legal services when facing critical civil legal issues, such as child custody, debt collection, eviction, and foreclosure.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association encourages U.S. jurisdictions to consider regulatory innovations that have the potential to improve the accessibility, affordability, and quality of civil legal services, while also ensuring necessary
and appropriate protections that best serve the public.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association encourages U.S. jurisdictions to collect and assess data regarding regulatory innovations both before and after the adoption of any innovations to ensure that changes are effective in increasing access to legal services and are in the public interest.
A PDF of the Resolution as well as the accompanying report can be found here. Information about all resolutions can be found here.
Comment Requested:
If you have any comments or concerns about the resolution, we would like to hear from you so that we may answer or address them. Please fill out the comment form here.
Media and Background Information:
The following are links to media coverage of the resolution as well as some useful background reading. If you are covering the resolution and would like to speak to someone about it, please contact our Media Liasion Bill Choyke or ABA Center for Innovation Board Chair Daniel B. Rodriguez.
Media
- Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System/Andrew Arruda - Reregulation, Not Deregulation (November 21, 2019)
- The American Lawyer/Law.com - ABA Could Encourage States to Allow Outside Ownership of Law Firms (December 3, 2019)
- 2Civility - ABA Resolution Encourages Innovation in Lawyer Regulation (December 5, 2019)
- 2Civility - Could Re-Regulation Benefit Lawyers? (December 16, 2019)
- PrawfsBlawg - 2020: The Year of Regulatory Reform in Legal Services? (And how the law professiorate might help) (January 2, 2020)
- The American Lawyer/Law.com - 'Change Frightens Us All:' Utah Justice Himonas on Why Deregulation, Innovation Still the Path Forward for Law (January 9, 2020)
State Reports and Surveys
- ABA Center for Innovation - Legal Innovation Regulatory Survey
- Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System - Unlocking Legal Regulation
- Arizona Task Force on the Delivery of Legal Services - Report and Recommendations
- Legal Market Landscape Report (Commissioned by State Bar of California and Prepared by Prof. William Henderson)
- Utah Work Group on Regulatory Reform - Narrowing the Access to Justice Gap by Reimagining Regulation