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 28th overall, it continued to perform among the worst in the world in access to its civil legal system.

by Tom Gordon

On August 9, the American Bar Association House of Delegates voted unanimously to adopt Resolution 402, which reaffirms the ABA's opposition to lawyers sharing fees with non-lawyers. The practical effect of this measure is zero, but it provides further evidence of the obstinance of a lawyer cartel that sees self-regulation as a way to maintain a market advantage rather than changing to meet consumers' needs.

by Jana Jedrych
 
Access to legal services in California is severely lacking, with the average Californian seeking help for less than one in three legal problems per year. Aware that current regulations and practices are what’s fueling this inability to access justice, in 2020 the State Bar of California formed the Closing the Justice Gap Working Group and the Paraprofessional Program Working Group. These two Working Groups were meant to address a justice gap so profound that per the State Bar's own findings, 85% of legal problems faced by Californian residents receive no or inadequate legal help.

by Tom Gordon

A federal court in New York has granted an injunction preventing the New York Attorney General from enforcing unauthorized practice of law (UPL) regulations against a program attempting to provide free legal advice to those facing debt collection proceedings. The court's ruling is a victory for people without resources to pay a lawyer and for their First Amendment rights to receive information that can help them navigate the legal system.

Responsive Law is proud to announce that Constandinos "Deno" Himonas has become president of its board of directors.

Himonas was a justice of the Utah Supreme Court from 2015 until earlier this month, when he stepped down to join the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Himonas led the Court’s establishment of a regulatory sandbox for legal service providers, which allows innovative business models for legal service delivery to serve consumers in the state.