shlep: the Self-Help Law ExPress

Citing a widening “justice gap” and the danger of there being one court system for the wealthy and one for the poor, Chief Justice John T. Broderick Jr., of the New Hampshire Supreme Court,  has been traveling the state to deliver a plea for lawyers to take on more pro bono cases. (Portsmouth Sunday Herald, “Chief justice makes pro bono plea to lawyers,” by Dan Tuohy, Jan. 7, 2007)  He says that lawyers and court administrators must “turn and face the beast” to help people whose lives may be fundamentally changed due to a legal outcome. 

   CJ Broderick told the Herald that the delivery of justice grows more complicated as more people choose to represent themselves in court.   He noted last year that 85 percent of civil cases in district courts, at least one party is self-represented, and emphasized that an increase in pro bono services is only part of the solution.

The Herald article describes many of the pieces to the access puzzle in New Hampshire — with the courts, the bar and private organizations attempting to create a coordinated network to better serve the needs of NH citizens.  Here are a few notable points:

• Besides renewed legal assistance, the court system itself must be less cumbersome, provide additional resources and seek alternatives, according to Broderick.
• a new rule for unbundled legal services is part of the solution
• alternative dispute resolution services are crucial, with 60 to 70 percent of cases using mediators being settled without a judge — and with litigants “more likely to live up to a decision if they have a hand in resolving their dispute.” 
• Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord runs a free legal clinic and seeks to promote pro bono work as part of the culture of lawyering.
• In addition to the legal services provided by New Hampshire Legal Assistance and others, the New Hampshire Judicial Branch has its own self-help center. The center offers tips on how one gets started, as well as ways to avoid court altogether.

A New Hampshire Citizens Commission on the State Courts, which the chief justice helped establish, produced a report and several recommendations last summer (see Herald article “Making courts user-friendly“.  The commission recommended an expansion of legal representation to civil litigants unable to afford counsel and a network to help self-represented litigants navigate the legal system. Such a network could focus on a limited number of non-criminal cases in which essential rights are at stake, according to the commission.

   On Feb. 16, 2006, Chief Justice Broderick gave Remarks on Access to Justice (3 pp, pdf) to the New Hampshire Bar Association.  In it, he sets a high standard for the bar to meet, chides the profession for doing too little, and suggests what needs to be done. If you go below the fold, you’ll find key excerpts from the address. 

Excerpts from Remarks on Access to Justice, given at mid-winter NH Bar meeting, by Chief Justice John T. Broderick, Jr., February 16, 2006 (emphases added):

– When I became Chief Justice in 2004, I announced my commitment to do all I could to make justice in New Hampshire more accessible, affordable and understandable for all of our citizens.

– Equal justice under law is not achievable if poverty barricades the doors to our courthouses and allows some, but not all of our citizens, a fair and impartial forum to redress their grievances. Neither will it be achieved if we do not assume ownership.

– The challenge we confront as judges and lawyers is not ours alone. I recognize that. Government has a responsibility, too. . . . But it seems to me that those of us whose chosen profession breathes life into the promises of the constitution have a special responsibility and unique skills to open the doors to our courthouses as wide as possible and to advocate for others to help us.

– Our bar stands taller than many others around the country in addressing the legal needs of the poor, but the justice gap is widening and we are called to do more. In my view, the proper comparison is not to what others are doing but to the needs we are not serving in our own state. Those who run legal services here tell me that only half of the New Hampshire lawyers who are eligible to do pro bono cases are actually doing them. Where is the other half? Why haven’t those lawyers pitched in to represent someone in need of legal help? Too many of us remain on the sidelines.

– From a financial perspective, I am told that only 15 percent of the more than 5,000 lawyers who are licensed to practice in New Hampshire, contributed to the Campaign for Legal Services,

– When I was in private practice, I too often failed to meet my obligations to the poor in need of a guide or an advocate. I am not proud of that . . . I am not here today to be critical. I would be the last one in the room entitled to be. I am here today to ask for your help. Your help is desperately needed.

– My heartfelt plea to all of you here today is to register with the pro bono program and take at least one case this calendar year. One case. That rising tide would lift many boats. It’s no excuse in my view that you are not an expert in every facet of the law. The impoverished and unskilled client will do much better with you than without you and there is no rule that says you cannot learn or be assisted by someone more knowledgeable.

– Through ADR, the unbundling of civil legal services allowing for limited representation, a rule the Supreme Court adopted yesterday, case managers, a self-help website, pro se protocols and the volunteer efforts of lawyers at some of our courthouses, especially in Nashua, the judicial system is trying to respond to a growing need.

– I would like it said years from now that during our collective watch no one was turned away and that the dignity of all who sought justice was respected and that the courts were truly open.

– The integrity of our profession and the core mission of the judicial system are depending on our success.