Three ALI members presented talks at the ABA’s House of Delegates meeting on August 3, 2015. Phoebe Haddon, chancellor of Rutgers University-Camden, moderated the TED-style talk about “The Future of Legal Services” and noted that many self-represented litigants do not identify the cost of representation as an issue because they believe that lawyers cannot help them.
ALI Council member Presiding Judge Carolyn Kuhl of the Los Angeles Superior Court discusses the high pro se load in Los Angeles. She illustrated her presentation with photos of long lines in hallways, at help desks, and outside of the building. She stated that her court has the largest caseload in the country and about half of all cases have at least one unrepresented litigant.
Chief Judge Barbara Madsen of the Supreme Court of Washington spoke about Washington’s limited license legal technician program and how the state bar has moved from grudging acceptance to embracing it. “Innovation will continue with or without us, so we need to get in the driver’s seat,” she said. “We need to get on that bandwagon to change the profession before it runs us over. And I believe that, given the statistics I’ve heard, maybe we’ve already been run over.”
View the full presentation on ABA’s website