Written by Tom Gordon
Mark Childress was sworn in yesterday as the White House's Access to Justice Advisor, succeeding Laurence Tribe, who left last fall due to health problems. The Washington Post describes Childress as a "savvy Washington operator" who played a major behind-the-scenes role in the enactment of health-care reform and in handling federal judicial nominations. While Professor Tribe has left some large shoes to fill, we are pleased that the administration has chosen a serious political player as his replacement. We hope that Childress will quickly put those skills to use on behalf of the majority of Americans who lack meaningful access to the legal system. Tom Gordon is Executive Director of Responsive Law.
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A recent unpublished study by two Harvard researchers has arguably called into question the effectiveness of free legal aid and started a conversation as to whether such organizations help or hurt those they serve. It’s a conversation, however, that should be placed in a wider context. The vast majority of Americans are priced out of the legal system, not just the indigent. The question should not be about the effectiveness of legal aid societies – such organizations are struggling with limited resources to meet huge demand. Instead, we should be asking how the legal profession has continually permitted the need for affordable legal services go unmet, not just for the poorest amongst us, but indeed for the majority of American consumers.
Written by Tom Gordon
Even while unveiling a bevy of new programs, Laurence Tribe announced that he is stepping down as Senior Counselor for the Access to Justice Initiative at the Department of Justice. The new programs his Initiative unveiled are aimed at providing greater access to legal services for veterans, people with potential workplace wage violation complaints, and homeowners facing foreclosure. As laudable as such programs are, these efforts still appear to be trying to bridge the gap to affordable and accessible legal services at its widest point. Mr. Tribe deserves accolades for placing his considerable reputation and vast legal scholarship behind such a worthy effort, but it is difficult to understand why Tribe never fully exploited his office's capacity to act as a bully pulpit from which he could better describe and amplify the importance of greater access to justice for the average American - a need greatly underrated and ill-understood across all levels of American society. Written by Tom Gordon
Right now, much of the country's attention is focused squarely on Washington DC and on healthcare reform. No matter your political opinion of the bill that just passed the United States House of Representatives late last night, one thing is clear: new laws regarding your healthcare are likely on their way. That bill (which can be downloaded in PDF format here) is very long, very complicated, and may change many things about the way you receive healthcare coverage. One thing is clear: having affordable access to legal services will be as important as ever. |
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