Abstract
The American legal system has a civil access-to-justice gap, wherein many people with civil legal issues are unable to obtain legal assistance. People with civil legal issues who cannot afford an attorney frequently must proceed through the legal system on their own. As the number of Self-Represented Litigants (SRLs) grows, several jurisdictions have investigated the creation of an additional tier of legal service providers, who can give limited legal assistance at a lower price than attorneys. For the purposes of this report, we will refer to these service providers as Allied Legal Professionals (ALPs). ALP programs can involve a wide range of provider certification models, from a month-long training process to become a technician to a years-long combination of legal education, examinations, and work experience. ALP programs are sometimes controversial, with stakeholders raising concerns about the effectiveness and sustainability of the new legal roles.
Section 1 of this report discusses the primary considerations that courts should take into account as they develop new ALP programs. Section 2 provides an evaluation framework describing the data and analyses needed to evaluate the extent to which an ALP program is meeting its primary goals. In many cases, a valid and useful evaluation of the ALP program will depend on courts preparing to collect the right data before the program has launched. It is therefore crucial that courts proactively prepare for a complete evaluation process from the outset.
This abstract has been taken from the authors' executive summary.
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
5-2021
Publication Information
National Center for State Courts (2021)
Repository Citation
Miller, Andrea L.; Hannaford-Agor, Paula; and Genthon, Kathryn, "An Evaluation Framework for Allied Legal Professional Programs: Assessing Improvements in Access to Justice" (2021). Faculty Publications. 2380.
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/2380