Glimpses of Hope for A2J – in BC and Abroad
2024 has been a tough year. I don’t know about you, but I needed to end the year with something good to cling to going into 2025. The Advent season spurred a lot of talk about hope, so I looked for things that provided a glimpse of hope for the future of access to justice in BC and beyond. We are tired and need encouragement to keep working.
The good news is that there is much to be hopeful about in the A2J space! Here are some links (Note 1) that crossed my desk in the last month showing recent evidence that progress is being made in system change to improve access to justice. I specifically looked for evidence of research or initiatives that focus on:
- People-centred justice / human-centred design
- Multi-disciplinary collaboration
- Innovation
- Experimentation (prototypes rather than projects or pilots)
- Developmental evaluation
- Client-centred feedback
- New business models for providing legal services
- Qualitative as well as quantitative research (e.g. storytelling)
Ab Currie (Canadian Forum on Civil Justice): People-Centered Justice Has Become the Norm in Access to Justice Dec 6 2024 people-centred/client experience
The shift from the distinct justice system orientation of the early discussions of civil justice reform led to the development of legal needs research focusing on legal problems from the point of view of the people experiencing them rather than from the perspective of the justice system. That laid the foundation for a paradigm shift that changed the way we look at the nature of legal problems, at justice and access to justice.
Furlong: Three better metrics for law firm success Dec 5 2024 people-centred / client experience feedback, new business models
My view is that clients who hire a lawyer are looking for three and only three things:
- A Successful Outcome: Your client is at a bad Point A, and they want get to a better but poorly understood Point B. Help them define Point B, and get them there.
- A Positive Experience: Your client wants the A-to-B trip to be timely, cost-effective, and not excruciating. Do what you can to maximize all three elements.
- An Improved Relationship: Your clients want you to understand them and their situation better at the end of the retainer than at the start. Show that you do.
Outcome, experience, and relationship constitute everything that clients care about.
John Grant: Podcast Ep #45: Agile Access to Justice, Leveraging Process Improvement to Serve the Underserved people-centred, human-centred design, unbundled services, new business models (including alternative pricing strategies)
Limited scope representation can have a significant impact on client outcomes by providing targeted help on specific issues
“In today’s podcast episode, I wanted to tap into the theme of “giving” to share how the nonprofit law firm The Commons Law Center is embracing Agile concepts to provide eviction defense at scale in Oregon’s Multnomah County. Using a combination of process improvement and client-centered design, they have helped triple the percentage of tenants who are represented by counsel at their eviction hearings, going from roughly 6% to over 18%.”
Jamie McLaren KC: Centering the Client and Serving the Missing Middle Bartalk, Dec 2024 people-centred services, unbundled services, innovation, experimentation (Note 2)
APB is an enthusiastic proponent of this type of client-centred service. The organization subscribes to principles of human-centred design, evidence-based analysis, collaboration, and innovation in all aspects of its service design and delivery. It applies Access to Justice BC’s Triple Aim Framework to its program development, with its three core pursuits of better user outcomes, better user experiences, and lower system costs.
Mark Hunter: Elevating the Client Experience in Professional Services Nov 29 2024 people-centred services, client experience feedback
Yes, you are the lawyer and with that comes a level of expertise that your client needs, but clients have options. Delivering an exceptional client experience is a powerful differentiator. Firms set themselves apart and achieve sustained success by cultivating a client-centric mindset, leveraging client insights, streamlining processes, and, most importantly, continuously improving.
Chris Corrigan: Community is Participatory Dec 13 2024 multi-disciplinary collaboration
[Summarizing a post by Peter Levin]
People are more likely to trust institutions if they are involved in diverse, participatory groups, because such participation gives them a feeling of agency, teaches them that compromise is necessary (it’s not a sign that leaders are corrupt), and encourages them to share and critically assess information.
… folks can come together across all kinds of ideological differences if there is actual work in the centre to do. Grappling with the realities of governance, community building, the provision of services and policy making is edifying work. It’s hard, and requires relationship and commitment. Everyone has opinions about things, but rolling your sleeves up and getting to work is where relationships and therefore community is built.
U.S. American Academy of Arts & Sciences: Dec 2024 Achieving Civil Justice, A Framework for Collaboration Multi-disciplinary collaboration, people-centred services, innovation, evidence-based approach, experimentation (Note 3)
..it becomes evident what a pluralistic and pragmatic civil justice effort can achieve: a people-centered approach in which Americans can access the support they need, when they need it, from trusted, quality providers. Courts and lawyers are the essential lifeblood of the civil justice system. But this transformation cannot be done by courts and lawyers alone. Their work must be paired with the efforts of a broader network of community justice providers, law schools, researchers, technologists, allied professionals, community leaders, and business and philanthropic leaders.
- Listening to and learning from underserved communities.
- Offering legal help where people already are.
- Using technology to make it easier to gain access.
- Training more people to support Americans with legal needs.
- Building partnerships with philanthropies and businesses to expand funding, resources, and innovation in the field.
..this publication identifies four steps anyone can apply to their work in civil justice:
- First, organize civil justice efforts around the people seeking civil legal help—the self-represented litigants—rather than lawyers, legal systems, or courts.
- Second, coordinate, connect, and participate with local, state, and national groups that actively engage on listservs, conferences, virtual meetings, and other forums to share best practices, scholarship, and emerging strategies.
- Third, embrace an evidence-based approach.
- Finally, adjust tactics and strategy as projects evolve.
I wish everyone a 2025 filled with hope.
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Note 1: My apologies that this is a short list for this post. Please add additional glimmers in the comments below!
Note 2: Jamie does not have the same optimism for the Law Society of BC’s A2J efforts in 2024.
Note 3: This is a report but it is not just a collection of good words. It is also jam-packed with real-life examples of action and initiatives that hold promise.
Start the discussion!