by Michaela Reger

Responsive Law has submitted comments to the Utah Supreme Court in support of its proposed reforms to regulation of legal services in the state. 
  
The Court’s proposal (known as the “Sandbox”) would eliminate restrictions on non-lawyer ownership of law firms. For law businesses that choose to include nonlawyer ownership, there would be a new regulatory body using outcomes- and risk-based approaches to balance increased access to justice with actual consumer harm. ​

Written by Ridhi Shetty

For-profit legal referral will be prohibited by a new proposed ethics opinion by the State Bar of Michigan Professional Ethics Committee that states that for-profit legal referral services violate fee-sharing prohibitions under the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct. Responsive Law has issued testimony opposing the proposed ethics opinion, urging the Committee to allow attorney participation in for-profit legal referral services to improve public access to justice.

​Written by Tom Gordon

​The New Jersey Supreme Court has declined to review a bar ethics opinion prohibiting lawyers from participating in fixed fee legal services platforms such as Avvo Advisor. The court’s inaction will most immediately impact consumers of legal services in New Jersey, but ultimately could expose members of the New Jersey bar ethics committees to antitrust liability.
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Written by Bethany Hou

​Responsive Law recently submitted comments to the North Carolina Bar regarding the Bar's recent proposed opinion on  legal participation in an online platform for finding and employing a lawyer. The proposed opinion states that lawyers should be allowed to participate in these online platforms, subject to certain conditions.  Online platforms have the potential to become the most easily accessible source of information for consumers, combatting the access to justice crisis in America. 

Written by Danny Foster
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Recently, we wrote a guest post for our friends over at UpCounsel on Fee Sharing, Innovation, and the Consumer Interest.  You’ll have to click through to read the whole thing, but (briefly) the argument runs as follows: