The Law Society of Saskatchewan has released a new podcast examining the role of law librarians in improving access to justice by providing public access to legal information. The podcast features Alan Kilpatrick, Co-Director of Legal Resources at the Law Society of Saskatchewan, Shaunna Mireau, Past-President of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries, and Kim…
Singapore Ministry of Law offers free mediation services for couples and wedding vendors impacted by COVID-19
The Singapore Ministry of Law (“MinLaw”) has introduced a new free mediation programme for parties such as couples and wedding vendors who have been impacted by new COVID-19 restrictions. The MinLaw COVID-19 (Wedding) Mediation Programme first took effect on 8 May 2021 and was introduced in recognition of the fact that many parties had to…
Singapore to expand permitted categories for third party funding
The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) has approved changes that will be implemented on the 28th June, which will see the third-party funding (TPF) framework widened to allow for the inclusion of domestic arbitration proceedings, certain proceedings in the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), and related mediation proceedings. The new funding options offer businesses an alternative…
Top jurists call for regulatory change to increase access to justice
During the 9th June ABA discussion on regulatory change, Vice Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer of the Arizona Supreme Court stated that despite decades of efforts to encourage practising lawyers to perform a minimum of 50 pro bono hours annually to increase access to justice, minimal results have been achieved. Timmer is part of…
The Surprising Success of Washington State’s Limited License Legal Technician Program
Washington State launched the Limited License Legal Technician program in 2015, aiming to provide competent, regulated, and reasonably priced legal services to moderate means Washingtonians with family law issues. By 2020, the Washington Supreme Court had soured on the program and voted to sunset it. What happened? For this white paper, we interviewed key stakeholders…
Law Society of New South Wales welcomes new advocacy service for cognitively impaired users
The Law Society of New South Wales (NSW) has welcomed the NSW Government’s decision to invest $28million in to the Justice Advocacy Service (JAS) and the establishment of a new court-based diversion program for individuals with a cognitive impairment. JAS is a support service provided to victims, witnesses and defendants with a cognitive impairment. The…
Nobody Can Really Afford Legal Services: The Price of Justice in Namibia
Abstract Nobody (except for the privileged few) can afford legal services in Namibia. In the light of this dawning awareness, how should the government and other stakeholders design the legal profession so that the greatest number of Namibians can access legal services and, ultimately, justice while preserving the profession’s financial viability? The predominantly economic nature of this question means that its solutions lie…
State Bar of California provides grants to twenty legal services organizations to hire provisionally licensed lawyers
The State Bar of California has selected the first 20 legal services organizations which will receive grants to hire provisionally licensed lawyers (PLLs) in 2021–2022. The grant-giving programme is designed to allow legal aid organisations to augment their staff, and is part of the Bar’s ongoing effort to address unmet legal need amongst low-income Californians,…
Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten unveils website to allow consumers to easily access disciplinary rulings
The Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten (NOvA) has created a website designed to allow consumers to easily access disciplinary rulings. The new feature has been launched as part of the ‘Find a lawyer’ search engine, which allows a litigant to better identify legal counsel. The website had previously shown indicative information about lawyers possibly facing a…
Law Society of Scotland survey finds support for increased use of remote civil hearings
A newly released survey of Scottish solicitors, by the Law Society of Scotland, has found that more than three-quarters of respondent think that aspects of remote civil court work should continue post-pandemic. The results found that the majority of civil court practitioners have indicated that they think remote hearings work well for procedural and uncontentious…