Legal Problem Solving

How might I help increase voter turnout and voter registration in Tennessee?

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 11:18:25 -0800

For my final Legal Problem Solving project, I decided to redesign the Tennessee Voter Registration Application Form. Tennessee ranks near the bottom of all states for voter turnout. Voting rights advocacy is a cause I care about, so I brainstormed ways to help increase ballot-access. I asked myself: how might I help increase voter turnout and voter registration in Tennessee?

First, I turned to brainstorming strategies we learned from my team’s design-sprints. I tried to think of as many ideas as I could without judgment or limitation. While brainstorming, I considered design mindsets, especially humble curiosity and empathy. I wanted to put myself in the shoes of a first time voter who did not have experience reading legal documents, and thought those particular mindsets would help me do that best.¹

Next, I weighed the effectiveness of each idea, and considered which were the most feasible. Ultimately, I decided to redesign the voter registration application. Throughout the semester, we saw many examples of legal documents or processes redesigned to be more accessible to people who need access to legal services; why not the voter registration application? Some relatively simple, yet important, fixes can make it easier to register to vote and participate in one of democracy’s most important institutions: the elective franchise.

Quick Links (each is explained and linked below as well).

LPS v.2021: Final Design Projects

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 11:00:09 -0800

In the next series of posts, I'll be sharing the final individual projects from Legal Problem Solving v.2021. These range from articles to legal document redesigns to comic book explainers of Miranda for kids! And they capture the range of interests and creativity that animated the Vanderbilt Law School colleagues who joined me on the semester-long journey into human-centered design in legal practice.

Student colleagues had great latitude in selecting a project topic and format, as reflected in the range of projects they designed. The primary goal was that they approach this work with the human-centered mindsets we embrace in Legal Problem Solving: exhibiting humble curiosity and empathy, embracing ambiguity, embracing feedback, leveraging experimentation, and seeking radical collaboration.

Across the projects, student colleagues' work reflects a human-centered approach. One I hope they will carry with them into the practice.

From Flash to Substance: Technology in the Legal Profession

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 08:58:50 -0800

In the 2019 series of student blog posts for Legal Problem Solving, students are digging into the American Bar Association's 2016 Report on the Future of Legal Services to explore how far we've come in 2019 and what remains to do in the innovation of legal services delivery.

In its 2016 Report on the Future of Legal Services in the United States, the ABA recommended that the legal profession partner with other disciplines and the public for insights about innovating the delivery of legal services. In particular, Recommendation 7 discussed the prevalence of online ratings, digital marketing, and technology-based access to legal services, and the need for lawyers to incorporate new and emerging trends when representing clients.

The use of emerging technology to modernize the legal profession should be considered as (at least) two distinct issues – first, technology as making legal services more accessible to the public, and underserved populations in particular, and second, technology as creating more well-rounded lawyers better equipped to actually service the public’s needs. The latter is necessary and long overdue – lawyers are generally reluctant to adapt to extreme innovation, and tend to lag in adopting new technological developments. This is evidenced by the ABA’s 2019 Profile of the Legal Profession, in which the ABA found only 10% of the legal profession rely on...Read More

The Institute for the Future of Law Practice: Preparing Students for Tomorrow's Practice

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 08:51:37 -0800

The Institute for the Future of Law Practice (IFLP) is a new program that focuses on providing law students with skills and knowledge about the changing landscape of legal practice. By filling the gaps with information that is not traditionally taught in law schools, IFLP seeks to ensure that the next generation of lawyers is well-prepared to incorporate new technology and process improvement mechanisms into the practice of law.

I had the pleasure of participating in this program last summer, and I strongly believe that IFLP has provided me with the address the inevitable changes facing the legal industry. This is IFLP’s Mission Statement: “IFLP creates and delivers curriculum that complements traditional law school offerings. We leverage industry best practices to create learning modules that allow current and future legal professionals to learn the latest techniques. We use industry experts to deliver these modules in condensed time periods, with an emphasis on real-world problem solving. We then extend this training through practical work experience in paid internships. This unique approach produces graduates who add unique value to their clients from day one.” As a...Read More

Great Power Without Great Responsibility: Thoughts and Recommendations on Prosecutorial Misconduct

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 08:37:27 -0800

The American Bar Association regularly published reports on the state of the legal field and how the field may be improved. While these reports do not focus extensively on the criminal justice system, the ABA’s 2016 Report on the Future of Legal Services did make some recommendations on how more equitably dispense justice. One of the ABA’s suggestions is an often-repeated plea: give public defenders the resources they need to ensure that attorneys have reasonable caseloads.

At this point in time, the plight of public defenders is well-known. The ABA has even been a major partner in the Missouri Project, which found that public defenders in Missouri were not spending enough time on their cases to provide adequate legal assistance to defendants. This was found in all situations, from homicide cases to violations of probation.

While I whole-heartedly agree that public defenders need more funding, many critics, the ABA included, rarely seek to address problems on the other side of the “v”. Prosecutors have a truly staggering amount of power in the criminal justice system. From their...Read More

Drug and Alcohol Abuse in the Legal Profession: A Challenge

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 08:33:41 -0800

In 2016, the ABA issued a comprehensive study on the issue of drug and alcohol abuse among lawyers. Before the study, it was assumed that lawyers had a higher than average substance abuse problem, but there were few studies confirming these assumptions. After surveying over 12,800 practicing attorneys, the study results were shocking.

Study results show 20.6% of lawyers were considered “problematic drinkers,” with younger lawyers having a significantly higher proportion than older lawyers. Furthermore, 22.6% of participants answered that they have felt their alcohol use to be problematic at some point in their lives, and nearly 58% said that this problem began during law school or within fifteen years of completing law school. To put it in perspective, the rate of problematic drinkers in the general population is 6%, and among highly educated professionals, it is 11.8%. Clearly, the legal profession has an alcohol problem.

As far as drug use is concerned, attorneys surveyed engaged in a wide variety of illicit and licit substances including: sedatives, tobacco, marijuana, and opioids. Weekly usage was reported as 74.1%. The rates of low, intermediate, substantial, and severe drug use were 76%, 20.9%, 3%,...Read More

Rethinking the Third Year of Law School

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 08:26:46 -0800

Much has been touted about the progressive steps law schools have taken to overhaul the traditional curriculum by inserting into the course list educational opportunities involving “innovation in legal services delivery.” From classes on electronic discovery to legal project management, law schools have found value in providing students with tools transferable to real-world practice.

Consistent with the recommendation by the ABA Task Force on Legal Education that law schools offer a space for technology instruction, experiential learning, and hands-on, practical training, most law schools afford opportunities to engage in legal clinics, and more than 35 schools have established post-graduate incubator experiences, allowing recent grads to focus on providing legal services to those in need. However, alongside these...Read More

Priming the Pump: Improving Rehabilitation Programs for Adult and Juvenile Inmates

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 08:06:12 -0800

America’s prisons are overcrowded. This is a widely recognized and globally accepted truth in our legal system, one that the American Bar Association addressed in its 2016 Report on the Future of Legal Services. Under Recommendation 9.3, the Report stated that courts should “encourage the creation of programs to provide training and mentoring for those who are incarcerated with a goal of easing reentry into society as productive and law-abiding citizens."

Fortunately, it appears that our legal system has heeded this advice over the last three years. All across the nation, prison programs focusing on education, vocational training, and rehabilitation have become nearly universal. Virtually all federal prisons offer some form of vocational training, and 84% of state prisons offer courses at or above a high school level. Finally, almost every federal prison offers alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs.

Perhaps the greatest indicia of success is that, in many places, the focus has shifted from simply creating these programs to actually Read More

Providing Effective Assistance for Civil Legal Needs: Turning to New Technology to Solve an Old Problem

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 08:03:31 -0800

The American Bar Association 2016 Report on the Future of Legal Services sets forth several recommendations to enhance the delivery of legal services in the United States. Its first recommendation is that the legal profession support the goal of providing effective assistance for essential civil legal needs to all individuals unable to afford an attorney.

The Dire Need for Change

The troubling fact that Americans every day are unrepresented in some of the most emotional tolling scenarios out there—whether their child has been taken from them or whether they have been thrown out on the street by their landlord—must be addressed. There are numerous causes to point to as to why so many legal issues go unresolved. Of course, at the center of the spotlight, is money. Attorneys typically charge expensive rates, and most lawyers in the United States do not devote their practice to pro bono or “low bono” work. Lack of funds is only part of the issue, however. Many individuals do not seek legal help because they do not know where to go for help or how to navigate the complicated judicial processes. They may be weary to trust an attorney and may think that they can handle the matter more expeditiously on their...Read More

The Importance of Criminal Justice Reform to the Legal Profession as a Whole

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 11:27:33 -0800

In its 2016 Report on the Future of Legal Services, the ABA made many recommendations for the future of the legal field, including a recommendation to reform the criminal justice system. While not an initial focus of the Commission, the ABA recommended criminal justice reform due to the major impact the system has “on individuals, the rule of law, and the public’s perception of the administration of justice.” Thus, even though this is not related specifically to the legal field, it is of critical importance.

Some of the specific recommendations by the ABA include adjusting administrative fines and fees, creating programs for incarcerated individuals addressed as making re-entry an easy and productive process, decriminalizing minor offenses, and properly funding public defender offices. The report also supports the recommendations made in a resolution by the 2004 Justice Kennedy Commission. All of tRead More