​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

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.

Written by Carolyn Mobley

The World Justice Project is an organization focused on improving worldwide rule of law that publishes a yearly Rule of Law Index ranking legal systems across the globe. In the recently released 2017-2018 report, the United States ranked 94th of 113 countries in “accessibility and affordability” of its civil justice system. Additionally, the U.S. ranked lower than all other high income countries in this category. Furthermore, according to the rankings, the conflict-torn countries of Afghanistan, Colombia, and Sierra Leone have more affordable and accessible civil justice systems than the United States.

Written by Lynn Bechtol

Laura Snyder's new book, "Democratizing Legal Services: Obstacles and Opportunities," provides a comprehensive analysis of international trends and developments in the regulation of legal service providers.
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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.