by Tom Gordon and Jessica Bednarz

​At its December 15, 2023, meeting, the Texas Access to Justice Commission invited members of the bar and the public to share comments on the report and recommendations its Access to Legal Services Working Group released ten days earlier. The comprehensive 250-page report includes the group’s charge from the Supreme Court of Texas—to focus on helping low-income Texans—an overview of the access to justice crises in Texas, feedback from stakeholders in the legal profession, and three recommendations that could improve the delivery of legal services to low-income Texans. A summary of the formal written comments submitted to the Texas Access to Justice Commission can be found here and here. The feedback and comments centered around these three recommendations:

​by Tom Gordon

Today, the World Justice Project released its annual Rule of Law Index, ranking the commitment of 140 countries to the rule of law. Although the United States ranked 26th overall, it continued to perform among the worst in the world in access to its civil legal system.

In the category, “People Can Access and Afford Civil Justice," the U.S. ranked 115th out of 142 countries. It scored—by far—the worst among high-income countries  In fact, its ranking was near the median of countries in the low-income tier, consisting of the 18 poorest countries surveyed. According to the Index, access and affordability of legal help in the U.S. is around the same as it is in Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.

by Tom Gordon

Responsive Law has filed a brief in support of the South Carolina NAACP in its effort to provide free legal advice to tenants facing eviction proceedings in the state. South Carolina has one of the highest eviction rates in the country. Additionally, 99% of South Carolinians facing eviction go through the process without any legal representation. However, the state's restrictions on the unauthorized practice of law ("UPL") make it a felony for anyone but a lawyer to provide legal advice. Our brief argues that these UPL restrictions are a violation of the First Amendment rights of South Carolinians to receive information from the NAACP.

by Tom Gordon

The American Bar Association is cracking down on voices for change within its membership, including threats to the continuing existence of its Center for Innovation and wholesale changes to the Center's board that appear designed to neuter it. This crackdown came to light in conjunction with the ABA's cancellation of a piece that I co-authored for the Center for Innovation, which was scheduled to be published this week. Bob Ambrogi has throughly reported the story here.