Written by Angel Gutierrez

Responsive Law recently submitted comments to the American Bar Association regarding proposed rule changes to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct governing lawyer advertising and solicitation. Lawyer advertising is one of the most common ways that people find out about where they can get legal help. Restrictions on truthful advertising not only hinder the lawyer's ability to advertise her services, but also the consumer's ability to find the right lawyer for her legal matter. Lawyers have the right to convey truthful information and consumers have the right to make an informed decision among different options for legal services.

​Written by Tom Gordon

The American Bar Association’s Commission on the Future of Legal Services has just released its final report and recommendations. Responsive Law will have a lot to say about this report over the coming weeks and months, but we’d like to make a few important points upon its release.
 

Written by Morgan Newell
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The American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on the Future of Legal Services recently published an issue paper addressing whether alternative business structures (ABS) would benefit consumers in the United States. ABS allows non-lawyers to own and invest in law firms. Currently, practically every U.S. jurisdiction restricts non-lawyers from investing in law firms. The Commission requested responses and data on the benefits and risks of ABS.
 

Written by James Duffy
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Recently the American Bar Association’s Commission on the Future of Legal Services published a paper on how to make legal checkups more effective and widely available to the public. Responsive Law believes the guidelines have promise and issued comments on ways the guidelines could further benefit consumers.
 

Written by Tom Gordon

Responsive Law has just released its Report Card on Barriers to Affordable Legal Help. The report card grades all 50 states and the District of Columbia on how their regulations regarding the practice of law restrict consumer access to the legal system. Unfortunately, the news is not good, with no state receiving a grade higher than a C.
The report card graded three areas:

1. barriers to affordable help from lawyers (45% of total grade),
2. barriers to affordable help from non-lawyers (40%), and
3. support for self-represented litigants (15%).​