Perceptions About the Poor,Their Legal Needs,and Legal Services*

The Legal Services Corporation is faced with the problem of allocating limited resources in order to meet the legal needs of the poor. It is forced into the dilemma of setting priorities, creating workable regulations to meet an ambiguously defined and elusive concept of legal need. Current regulations require annual reports by legal services programs that are based, in part, on the assessment of eligible clients' needs as expressed by the attitudes of clients, the private bar and other interested persons. These regulations are premised on implicit assumptions relating attitudes, problems experience, legal need, and the relevancy of nonclient perceptions. This study examines these assumptions in an analysis of perceived problems, attitudes toward the allocation of legal services resources, and how these differ between the eligible client community, the private bar and public agencies in a community served by one legal service program in California.     

Building sustainable free legal advisory systems: Experiences from the history of AI & law

The enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) as a source of solutions to problems is not new. In law, from the early 1980s until at least the early 2000s, considerable work was done on developing ‘legal expert systems.’ As the DataLex project, we participated in those developments, through research and publications, commercial and non-commercial systems, and teaching students application development. This paper commences with a brief account of that work to situate our perspective.The main aim of this paper is an assessment of what might be of value from the experience of the DataLex Project to contemporary use of ‘AI and law’ by free legal advice services, who must necessarily work within funding and other constraints in developing and sustaining such systems. We draw fifteen conclusions from this experience, which we consider are relevant to development of systems for free legal advice services. The desired result, we argue, is the development of integrated legal decision-support systems, not ‘expert systems’ or ‘robot lawyers’. We compare our insights with the approach of the leading recent text in the field, and with a critical review of the field over twenty-five years. We conclude that the approach taken by the DataLex Project, and now applied to free legal advice services, remains consistent with leading work in field of AI and law.The paper concludes with brief suggestions of what are the most desirable improvements to tools and platforms to enable development of free legal advice systems. The objectives of free access to legal information services have much in common with those of free legal advice services. The information resources that free access to law providers (including LIIs) can provide will often be those that free legal advice services will need to use to develop and sustain free legal advisory systems. There is therefore strong potential for valuable collaborations between these two types of services providers.     

Legal Needs of The Poor: Problems,Priorities and Attitudes*

The Legal Services Corporation is faced with the problem of allocating limited resources in order to meet the legal needs of the poor. It is forced into the dilemma of setting priorities, creating workable regulations to meet an ambiguously defined and elusive concept of legal need. Recently enacted regulations require annual reports by legal services programs that are based, in part, on the assessment of eligible clients' needs as expressed by their attitudes. These regulations are premised on unarticulated implicit assumptions relating attitudes, problems experienced, and legal need. This study examines these assumptions in an analysis of perceived problems, help seeking behavior, attitudes toward the allocation of legal services resources, and how these have changed over time for the eligible client population of one legal service program in California.     

湖南法治政府建设实践的经验启示

2008年以来，湖南省出台了一系列政策法规文件，构筑形成了全面建设法治政府“一纲要一规划两规定六办法”的政策法规格局，并在具体实践中真抓实干、敢为人先，取得显著实效，引起全国上下广泛关注，形成中国法治政府建设所谓的“湖南模式”。“法治湖南”实践正在以其独特的内容和魅力促动着中国法治政府建设全面起航。通过探讨促动“法治湖南”建设实践动因，详细分析限权和服务为轴的湖南法治政府建设实践：一方面通过程序规控行政权力，达致“正确地做事”之目的，另一方面通过规定政府服务内容，追求“做正确的事”之目标。在此基础上，解析了湖南法治政府建设实践的经验启示。     

RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN LEGAL SERVICES: Individual Attorney Decisions in Work Priorities

This article explores the issues of professional decision-making in legal resource allocation by examining theoretical models of professional decision-making, and applying them in the provision of legal services for the poor. Data collected from time sheets completed by attorneys in an urban legal services program suggest the relative importance of bureaucratic, external, client-centered, ideology, personal, and role concept factors in allocating time for practice routines. The implications of these findings for the rational (i.e., cost benefit) determination of the value of legal services are discussed.     

Service Providers’ Knowledge and Perceptions of the Legal Service Needs of Crime Victims

Currently, there is an expansive body of victimization literature within the criminal justice field, which covers a number of essential topics such as victimization trends and patterns, short-and long-term effects of victimization, as well as specific effects of intimate partner violence and sexual assault victimization. Despite the variety of topics examined by empirical research, there is a noticeable lack of discourse pertaining to civil legal services for crime victims. This study is among the first to take a close look at civil legal services for victims by exploring three uncharted areas including: (a) service providers’ knowledge of civil legal services, (b) the legal needs of crime victims and available services, and (c) barriers between victims and accessing civil legal services. Using quantitative and qualitative data from interviews with service providers, policy implications and future research recommendations are discussed.     

COMPETITION IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MARKETS: ARE LATIN NOTARIES DIFFERENT?

Competition in markets for services offered by Latin notariesmay not work properly because of information asymmetries andthe need to guarantee an optimal supply of public goods. InEurope, there have been two test cases allowing for an assessmentof the effects of liberalization: the abolishment of the solicitors’monopoly for conveyancing services in England and Wales andthe deregulation of the Dutch notary profession. Both casesshow that deregulation does not guarantee lower prices. Moreover,the Dutch experience shows that there is a justified concernthat competition may decrease quality and jeopardize the notary'sintegrity. For these reasons, regulation may be justified aslong as effective instruments to control and monitor qualityare not (yet) in place. Since legal certainty has characteristicsof a public good, competition also tends to increase the numberof disputes on the legal validity of documents certifying legaltransactions. A comparison of the tasks of a Latin notary andthose of an American notary public provides reasons to fearthat, after deregulation, protection against legally invalidtransactions may be available only at higher prices. Finally,the Dutch experience shows that fee regulations remain necessaryto guarantee the accessibility of notarial services.     

Regulation of legal services in the e-world: a need to short circuit hot spots in ethics and novel practices?

This paper examines the professional and regulatory implications for legal practices of a rapidly evolving legal services marketplace shaped by new technologies and e-spaces. The paper focuses on three burgeoning areas in the delivery of legal services: (i) legal outsourcing; (ii) virtual law firms; and (iii) use of social media networking. The authors examine how Australian legal practitioners are utilising these new practices and technologies and the ethical implications of their use. The paper argues that the current regulatory framework in Australia does not adequately address the challenges and concerns raised by an increasingly borderless and e-based legal services market and thus calls for Australian legal regulators to remedy this deficiency as a matter of priority.     

The Interorganizational Politics of Legal Activit

This paper explores influences on the legal activity of attorneys in five federally funded legal services agencies. I examine the effect on legal activity of three sets of variables: lawyer characteristics, organizational features, and interorganizational en vironment. The data suggest that legal activity is influenced most directly by the nature of the interorganizational environment. The influence of personnel and organizational characteristics is indirect and situational, conditioned by the interorganizational context. The findings call into question many of the criticisms expressed by opponents of the Legal Services Corporation. They also suggest that constraints imposed by local organizations on legal services activities are at least as important as national attempts to modify the corporation's mission.     

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and the Role of Family Court Judges in Improving Outcomes for Children and Families

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a physical disability that is 95% underdiagnosed and 40 times over‐represented in juvenile justice. Prenatal alcohol and other drug exposure causes brain damage that affects behaviors, e.g., poor judgment, impulsivity, difficulty learning from experience, and difficulty understanding consequences, leading to multiple diagnoses such as Attention Deficit Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Emotionally Disturbed. FASD is an invisible physical disability; most people with FASD have no observable physical characteristics. The courts are in an important position to increase awareness of this problem by simply asking whether FASD is a factor that needs to be considered. The purpose of this article is to support increased recognition and efficacy of services for people with FASD in the legal system. Sections include: (1) Overview of FASD diagnostic criteria and current terminology; (2) Exploration of FASD as a physical disability with behavioral symptoms; (3) Case example illustrating common patterns of behaviors in children and adults with FASD without identification and improved outcomes following identification and implementation of appropriate treatment; and (4) Recommendations for family court judges.     

Legal liability of universities for students

This article involves analysis of the nature of the legal relationship between universities and their students. The development of a general perception that students are consumers of services provided by the university or their clients responsible for paying their own fees has led to an increased likelihood of students seeking legal redress for inadequacies in their educational experience. Recognition of the contractual basis of the arrangement and the resultant legal remedy for breach of the contractual terms has provided the means by which rights can be enforced. However, there are also a number of areas of law (under statute and the common law) which can be utilised for this purpose. These areas are summarised and the difficulties associated with their utilisation identified. The need to reform the system of student complaints in universities and the legal framework for enforcing their legal rights is discussed and recommendations put forward.     

The Poet and the Poor Law. Reflections Upon John Clare's ``The Parish'

This article argues that the work of the hedgerow poet John Clare is invaluable for legal social history in illuminating the reality of the operation of the poor law as it affected the lives of the poor. Clare's poem,The Parish, written between 1823–6 was not published during the author's lifetime. Written as he first achieved fame, it consists of 2,202 lines of satire denouncing the cant and hypocrisy he himself had witnessed and experienced in local village life. His Parish was his settlement parish where he and his parents were subject to the power of the vestry and local officials. This piece considers the text within the context of the legal history of the poor law. The value ofThe Parish as a primary source for that legal history is not merely in the simple narrative of biographical events allied to the poet's words, evocative as they are. It lies in the subtleties of Clare's own ambiguity about being poor and in the way those ambiguities assist us today both in understanding Clare's times and values and in hearing Clare mediating the universal experience of poverty through his art. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Back from the future: did the LETR really prepare us for the future?

The eagerly awaited outcomes of the Legal Education and Training Review provide a richness of data on the nature and content of legal education which is invaluable for legal education researchers. However, it is argued here that in so far as the Review was concerned with context and with preparing providers of legal services for a more challenging future, it neglected or understated some key issues. The extent of change in terms of the growth in the unregulated sector and in the way services are delivered, along with significant change in the way legal education and training itself is provided were perhaps all underestimated. Importantly, it is argued that the regulatory framework of the EU and its current developments and controversies were barely touched on yet not only is that framework directly relevant but it also has much to offer in terms of experience and ideas.     

Intelligent Agents and the Information Requirements of the Directives on Distance Selling and E-commerce

A significant amount of research in artificial intelligence is dedicated to intelligent agents, software that can perform tasks autonomously. Due to this autonomous character, agents are interesting from a legal perspective: lawyers struggle with the question whether agents are just instruments used by humans or legal entities that can perform legal acts. An interesting area for the practical application of agents is Internet commerce. Agents can find for their users profitable goods and services, and place orders online. The sellers of online goods and services have to meet information requirements that are laid down in the European Union Directives 97/7 and 2000/31. This paper addresses whether online sellers should provide (all) required information to agents directly, and as far as this is the case, in what format the required information regarding prices, delivery costs, etc. should be provided to agents.     

A 'European' Conception of Legal Consciousness: Rediscovering Eugen Ehrlich

This paper discusses the present ‘legal consciousness’ literature and seeks to identify two different conceptions of legal consciousness. Most of this literature originated in the United States, but there has also been a growing interest in issues of legal consciousness in Europe. The use of the term ‘legal consciousness ’ in these European discussions is, however, remarkably different from its use in the United States literature. It is argued that the most commonly used ‘American ’ conception of legal consciousness reflects important ideas of Roscoe Pound and asks: how do people experience (official) law? By contrast, a European conception of legal consciousness, which was first introduced by the Austrian legal theorist Eugen Ehrlich, focuses on: what do people experience as ‘law ’? After both perspectives are applied in a case‐study of a run‐down neighbourhood in the Netherlands, it is concluded that future studies of legal consciousness may benefit from an integration of the two conceptions.     

Advancing justice interests and human rights of vulnerable groups through clinical legal education

Access to justice rights of vulnerable groups in the Maldives is significantly affected due to lack of information, awareness, accessibility, and legal representation. The provision of State-funded legal aid is only available in serious criminal cases, and free legal services provided by individual lawyers and civil society organisations are limited and scattered. Out of 20, only a handful of atolls in the Maldives have resident lawyers offering legal services. Thus, as a country with over 200 inhabited islands, key vulnerable groups such as women and children face serious challenges in attaining legal services and access to the system. This article emphasises the broader objectives of legal education and argues that by pursuing social justice goals and advancing the human rights of vulnerable groups in the Maldives, university law clinics can benefit legal education and the society at large.

     

The Internet gambling conundrum: Extraterritorial impacts of U.S. laws on Internet businesses

Internet gambling is a significant commercial activity that has been successfully adapted to the online environment. The geographical transcendence of the Internet presents challenges for government regulation, which varies considerably. U.S. patrons have historically provided a significant portion of the Internet gaming market, despite a dubious legal status. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) enacted in October 2006 clarifies the legal status otherwise imposed by state law by prescribing felony criminal status to the Act of receiving an Internet wager from a jurisdiction where such wagering is illegal. This article provides an analysis of the UIGEA and its effects on Internet gambling firms, as well as related businesses. Despite targeting gambling firms, this legislation may also assist in the prosecution of other firms through aiding and abetting liability. UIGEA also targets financial services providers, requiring additional safeguards to stop unlawful transactions destined for Internet gaming sites. Financial markets suggest that this legislation has reduced Internet gambling in publicly traded firms. However, the bill may also have the effect of enhancing investment capital flows for online gambling firms, due to clarification of the legal status for firms who are not targeting U.S. residents in violation of UIGEA. The ultimate result may depend on whether other nations follow suit in targeting extraterritorial business with domestic gambling patrons.     

UNBUNDLING LEGAL SERVICES IN MEDIATION

The adversarial model for resolving family disputes is seriously flawed. The judicial system is inefficient and uneconomical. The vast majority of litigants cannot afford to have their cases handled by a lawyer, and, as a result, they end up representing themselves. However, divorcing spouses want and need legal services. They should not be forced to choose between full services and no services. As mediation moves toward acceptance as the preferred method for resolving family disputes, attorneys have an opportunity to offer a menu of legal services from which clients may order a la carte. This is the essence of unbundling. This article explores how unbundling enables mediation clients to obtain the legal services they request at an affordable cost and relieves consulting attorneys who perform discrete tasks of responsibility for the outcome of the case.     

Lawyers' Pro Bono Service and American-Style Civil Legal Assistance

Lawyers are often criticized for stinting on their responsibilities for public service; nevertheless, their uncompensated provision of legal services to poor people, or pro bono work, provides a substantial part of available civil legal assistance in the United States. Cross-sectional analysis of data from the late 1990s reveals that reliance on pro bono may render assistance vulnerable to market pressures in ways both obvious and subtle. In states where the legal profession takes in more receipts per lawyer, larger proportions of the profession provide uncompensated service to the poor. In states where the profession feels its work jurisdiction is under threat from unauthorized practice by other occupations, larger proportions of the profession participate in pro bono work than in states where there is no concern about unauthorized practice. As federally subsidized legal assistance shrinks in both scope and scale, growing reliance on pro bono leaves American-style civil legal assistance increasingly vulnerable to market forces.     

An overview of the legal and cultural issues for migrant Muslim women of the European union: A focus on domestic violence and Italy

The migration of Muslims into European nations and the intolerance exhibited towards them has been a growing challenge for the members of the European Union. The differences between the religion and cultures from which the Muslim women migrate and the receiving countries of the European Union may hamper the provision of social services to them when they experience domestic violence from their intimate partners. This article examines the potential for cross-cultural misunderstanding by examining domestic abuse in Italy in the context of both the social mores and the legal framework of that country. A comparison is made to the traditional perception of the role of women in Islamic culture. The research available on domestic violence in this context is examined as it relates to Italy and its Muslim migrants. The article suggests that what is needed are multidisciplinary cross-cultural solutions to provide services and meet the needs of Muslim victims of domestic violence in Italy.