by Tom Gordon
 
Consumers of legal services seeking a quick way to find lawyers while guarding against the prospect of runaway hourly billing will now have to look a little harder. Avvo has stopped offering its popular Avvo Legal Services. The service is no longer offered on its website, and the general counsel for Internet Brands, which recently acquired Avvo, has indicated that the service will be discontinued by the end of this month.

​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 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 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 Angel Gutierrez
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The ability to sign electronically is a convenient process allowing people to sign documents or confirm purchases from the comfort of their homes. However, the use of electronic signatures has not yet been applied to the process of estate planning. The 2016 Gallup Poll determined that the percentage of Americans with a will was only 45%, leaving the other 55% of the U.S. population with no record of their wishes upon their death. Responsive Law recently released a statement stating its support for laws that would allow for greater use of electronic signatures in estate planning.
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