The United States continues to rank among the worst countries in the world for access to legal help. In the latest annual rankings from the World Justice Project, released today, the U.S. ranked 119th of 143 countries in the category of “People Can Access and Afford Civil Justice.” The U.S. was ranked last among 51 countries in the High Income category. In fact, the U.S. ranking is much closer to those of countries in the middle of civil war than it is to those of other peaceful, prosperous countries.
Sadly, this ranking is not a surprise The U.S. has consistently ranked among the world’s worst in this category since the WJP began its annual rankings. The U.S. legal system is more complex than that of many countries in the rankings. Legal complexities enter most areas of our lives so that people need expert assistance navigating matters such as divorce and child custody, writing a will, or the legal aspects of running a small business.
In other areas where our lives are complex, our ability to innovate has driven down prices. So, for example, while many people’s lives now require access to internet and cellphone service, competition and innovation have made those technologies more affordable. Unfortunately, a subset of lawyers has consistently acted to prevent making legal help more affordable.
The self-governing lawyer cartel continues to prohibit competition from anyone who’s not a licensed lawyer, no matter how helpful they might be. And the lawyer cartel continues to support barriers to innovation that prevent lawyers from structuring their businesses to more efficiently and affordably serve the public.
Until these unnecessary restrictions on who can provide legal help and how they can provide it are eliminated, Americans will be stuck with a complex system of law which they can’t afford to navigate, while people in the rest of the world—whatever other problems they may face—will find legal help easier to come by than we do.