Now, a year into the pandemic, it is clearer than ever that courts must provide both in-person and virtual self-help services, with an emphasis on increasing access to information in order for self-represented litigants to receive the help they need.
In a normal year, more than 70 percent of civil and family cases involve at least one self-represented party. Many of these litigants encounter great difficulty in understanding what to do and when to do it.
Recognizing that many courts and legal service providers have made successful initial transitions to virtual services, IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) at the University of Denver, explored in how organizations accomplished it. Their findings can be accessed at the resource, below:
Pandemic Positives: Extending the Reach of Court and Legal Services
Case study participants, included:
| Alaska Self-Help Center Pima County Law Library Orange County Self-Help Center Madison County Law Library | Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada Legal Aid Service of Oklahoma LawHelp Interactive Deschutes County Access to Justice Committee | Deschutes Public Library Philadelphia Legal Assistance Salt Lake City Justice Court |