{"id":3928,"date":"2003-06-07T18:38:37","date_gmt":"2003-06-07T22:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/___-organizations-groups-agencies\/"},"modified":"2010-08-12T11:20:41","modified_gmt":"2010-08-12T15:20:41","slug":"___-organizations-groups-agencies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/___-organizations-groups-agencies\/","title":{"rendered":"___ Organizations, Groups, Agencies working for legal consumers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"a32\" name=\"a32\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial\"><em><span style=\"font-size: x-small\"> <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><em>\u2013 <\/em><\/em><em>Below are ethicalEsq-f\/k\/a<\/em><em> <\/em><em>postings and annotated web resources on this topic. Find our full list of annotated ethics links by clicking <\/em>the <a title=\"portal to postings and sources on lawyer ethics and client rights\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/resources\/\">Client Rights &amp; Legal Ethics<\/a> link o<em>n the Navigation Bar.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2004\/01\/31#a652\"><span style=\"color: black\">Posting 01\/30\/04<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: black\"> SelfHelpSupport.org Site Officially Launched<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2003\/06\/12\"><span style=\"color: black\">Posting 6\/12\/03<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: black\"> UnCommonly Good Advice on Contingency Fees<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2003\/06\/07\"><span style=\"color: black\">Posting 6\/7\/03<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: black\"> FTC Opposes Inflated Fees Based on Face Value of Coupons<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2003\/05\/30\"><span style=\"color: black\">Posting 5\/30\/03<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: black\"> P\/I Lawyers v. Common Good<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>ORGANIZATIONS &amp; AGENCIES working for the legal consumer<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.halt.org\"><strong>HALT \u2013 <em>An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong>. <\/strong>Founded  in 1978, HALT is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public interest group of  more than 50,000 members, and proudly states that it is &#8220;the nation&#8217;s  largest and oldest legal reform organization. Dedicated  to the principle that all Americans should be able to handle their  legal affairs simply, affordably and equitably, HALT&#8217;s <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.halt.org\/reform_projects\/\">Reform Projects<\/a><\/span> challenge the legal establishment to improve access and reduce costs in  our civil justice system at both the state and federal levels, and to  improve client protection and lawyer discipline.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.halt.org\/the_legal_reformer\/\"><strong>The Legal Reformer<\/strong><\/a><\/em><strong>: HALT&#8217;s <\/strong><strong>Membership Newsletter <\/strong>This  publication is available for free online, and is mailed to all HALT  members. It includes articles on HALT projects and publications, as well  as a roundup of legal reform news from across the nation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nolo.com\/democracy_corner\/index.cfm\">Nolo.com Democracy Corner<\/a>:<\/strong> [see update at the end of this paragraph]<em> <\/em>With the rally cry of &#8220;Let&#8217;s Fix America&#8217;s Dysfunctional Legal System,&#8221; the self-help-law publisher <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nolo.com\/l\">Nolo.com<\/a> presents its wish list of changes to the legal system and legal ethics. See the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nolo.com\/contends.cfm\">Nolo Contends<\/a> webpage, which describes the Nolo philosophy of legal reform: Law for  All, Remove Barriers to Access, Stimulate Reform of Law.  Topics covered  in essays on the site include expanding small claims court  jurisdiction, combating excessive contingency fees, preventing the use  of rules against the Unauthorized Practice of Law to ban self-help books  and software and the use of nonlawyer advisors, ending probate laws.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px\" dir=\"ltr\"><em><strong> <\/strong><\/em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/shlep\/files\/2006\/08\/NoloSharkS.gif\" alt=\"noloShark\" width=\"60\" height=\"49\" \/><em><strong> update<\/strong><\/em>: <em>Editor&#8217;s Note<\/em> (August 2010):\u00a0 Since I compiled this list in May 2003, Nolo.com has  taken much of the bite out of its website.\u00a0 Democracy Corner, Nolo  Contends, the Nolo Lawyer Joke Emporium, and its shark-lawyer  merchandise and computer wallpaper are gone from the site.\u00a0 Nonetheless,  its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nolo.com\/legal-encyclopedia\/\">Nolo Legal Encyclopedia<\/a> has useful free information and FAQs, on many substantive subjects of    interest to consumers or small businesses, as well as materials of  interest to consumers as clients or potential  clients of lawyers, or   who otherwise have a legal problem and are  curious about their options   and rights [scroll down to the section on Being Well-Informed  Legal Consumers on the main <a title=\"portal to postings and sources on lawyer ethics and client rights\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/resources\/\">CLIENT RIGHTS &amp; LEGAL ETHICS<\/a> page for links to some of Nolo&#8217;s materials.].<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/\"><strong>Federal Trade Commission<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>This  is one government agency that understands the importance of information  and competition to consumer welfare &#8212; and refuses to let professions  get off the hook with their pious paternal instincts and dubious  self-regulation.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.antitrustinstitute.org\/\">American Antitrust Institute<\/a> <\/strong>This nonprofit thinktank has produced a Guide to Antitrust Resources on the Web that includes a major section on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.antitrustinstitute.org\/Antitrust_Resources\/INDUSTRY_SPECIFIC_Info\/index.ashx\">Lawyers and Legal Services<\/a> [scroll down the page], including sections on Applying the Antitrust  Laws to the Legal Profession, Defining the Practice of Law, Protecting  Clients through Competition, Information and Fair Ethical Rules, and  Multi-Disciplinary Practice (MDP).<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.overlawyered.com\/topics\/ethics.html\"><strong>Overlawyered.com: Legal Ethics in Crisis<\/strong><\/a> Edited by Walter Olson, Overlawyered.com covers many aspects of the  legal profession&#8217;s effects on society, politics, and clients, with an  emphasis on the problem of excessive litigation. Overlawyer&#8217;s ethics  page includes sections on excessive fees, faulty disciplinary systems,  the failure to fully inform clients, and more, with links to relevant  articles, sites and reports.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.legalreform-now.org\/menu1_4.htm\">Legal Reform Now!<\/a>: This website has a lot of information and opinion on what ails the American legal system (including reprints from other sources), plus many suggestions on how to make things better.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2013 Below are ethicalEsq-f\/k\/a postings and annotated web resources on this topic. Find our full list of annotated ethics links by clicking the Client Rights &amp; Legal Ethics link on the Navigation Bar. Posting 01\/30\/04 SelfHelpSupport.org Site Officially Launched Posting 6\/12\/03 UnCommonly Good Advice on Contingency Fees Posting 6\/7\/03 FTC Opposes Inflated Fees Based on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3928","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6kP1R-11m","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3928"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11687,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3928\/revisions\/11687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}