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 Briane Cornish

In November 2014, the California State Bar Board of Trustees approved the creation and appointment of the Civil Justice Strategies Task Force. The charge of the task force was to analyze the reasons for the state’s justice gap: the conundrum of how there are so many lawyers yet so many Americans have unmet legal needs and cannot afford or access legal help. Specifically, the task force intended to study creative solutions and innovative strategies in use by other states and other countries that have the potential to greatly improve access to justice in California.

Written by Tom Gordon

The World Justice Project has released its 2015 Rule of Law Index, a comprehensive ranking of countries based on how their public experiences the rule of law. We've reported on the Rule of Law Index before, and sadly the story remains the same for the United States. While we rank among the world's leaders in most areas, we continue to bring up the rear among our peers in accessibility and affordability of civil justice.

Written by Tom Gordon
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Responsive Law, along with a coalition of law professors and alternative legal service providers has filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case of North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC. The case concerns whether dentists on the state licensing board are exempt from antitrust law for their behavior in banning non-dentists from providing teeth-whitening services.

Written by Danny Foster
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The World Justice Project recently published their annual Rule of Law Index, a comprehensive study of the rule of law in 99 countries. The fourth annual index compares countries in areas such as the absence of corruption, openness of government, and protection of fundamental human rights. Intended for policy makers, academics, and anyone going through post-Olympics international-competition withdrawal, the index provides a comprehensive empirical data set driven by surveys of over 100,000 households and legal professionals. The verdict: America's failure to provide access to justice seriously harms the rule of law here.