Washington, DC—HALT, the nation’s largest and oldest legal reform organization, has scored a major victory in the ABA’s recent report on improving “Access to Justice” for people of modest means.

As HALT Senior Counsel Tom Gordon testified before the ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, “The increasing exclusion of all but the very wealthy from our civil justice system is a crisis that harms tens of millions of Americans each year.” The ABA’s Committee concurred, finding that there is an undeveloped market for personal civil legal services for those of low to moderate incomes. Following Gordon’s recommendations, the Committee proposed reforms that would create a system based on a “continuum of need”.

Under this approach, consumers could choose legal services appropriate for their level of knowledge and financial situation. Choices could include using traditional attorney representation, hiring a legal document preparer for specific needs or taking advantage of online resources to prepare a case. The Committee proposed that state regulations should be modified to accept and regulate this variety of legal roles, so that a litigant has access to resources that correspond the amount of help desired. As Gordon points out, “If you have a headache, you don’t make an appointment with a neurosurgeon. You go to the pharmacy, do research and see if you can help yourself. The same system should be in place for legal services. Simple legal problems should have simple solutions that the intelligent layperson can navigate without a lawyer.” The new recommendations vindicate HALT’s longstanding efforts to eliminate rules that require a “CAT scan when an aspirin will do.”

One way of enhancing access to justice addressed in the Committee’s report was the issue of increasing the jurisdiction of small claims courts, making them more useful for consumers. HALT has long advocated increasing this ceiling to $20,000, a level where problems can be resolved without outside expertise. Previous increases in ceilings have not been shown to overburden small claims courts. Gordon pointed out that “an increase in the jurisdictional limit would not impact lawyers’ ability to make a living because cases at this economic level are rarely taken.” Vindicating HALT’s efforts, the Committee recommended that states look at legislation to raise dollar limits, encourage the provision of unbundled legal services, and improve courthouse support for non-lawyers.

Founded in 1978, HALT—An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform is a non-partisan, non-profit public interest organization. HALT pursues a bold education and advocacy program that challenges the legal establishment to improve access and reduce costs in the civil justice system.