In a world plagued by the diverse forces of poverty, racism, sexism, and more, access to justice has lost its protection as a universal human right, and access to high-quality legal support has become a marker of privilege. Justice has become just another means and system of social stratification that leaves millions, if not billions, vulnerable. Yet, according to international law, legal assistance is supposed to be equally accessible, transparent, and effective. However, in the enforcement and execution of these standards1 , this fundamental concept is often lost, and equal access to legal support becomes increasingly disparate across different groups. Although there has been a tremendous success over the last years to maximize the use of technology to increase access to justice, much more work is yet to be done. Through a combination of relief-oriented strategies, structural change to the legal system, and long-term educational solutions, access to justice can begin to reclaim its status as a universal human right.
To put a metaphorical "bandaid" in the gaping discrepancies in access to justice, the amount of pro-bono or "low"-bono (low-cost) work can be increased. Legal services at reduced or zero cost remove the price barrier between countless clients and effective representation in court. Often, pro bono legal assistance is the only way that clients can maintain their basic needs and quality of life including child support, government benefits, and physical protection.2 The next obvious question is in regards to how to incentivize all members of the legal system to take upon this workload with their already-present stress and long hours. When lawyers do pro-bono work, the costs of disbursements including filing fees, expert witness expenses, and more could be eliminated.3 Furthermore, the hours and typical workload for lawyers can be decreased while maintaining their compensation, and instead replaced with a larger number of required hours of lower-cost service. More pro-bono work can even be established in law school curriculums that can cultivate the students' skills and knowledge. Pro-bono work is essential to the legal profession and allows students and experienced lawyers to develop their responsibility towards their communities.4
To what extent can pro-bono work help close this gap in access to justice? To provide legal assistance for the number of unresolved problems in the US alone, every lawyer would have to put in 180 pro-bono hours every year which unfortunately is very distant from the current reality with only half of all lawyers doing pro-bono work for, on average, 55 hours per year.2 It would be "unfair" and irresponsible to suggest that lawyers alone should carry the burden of these discrepancies in access to legal services. Additionally, simply expanding the number of services does not resolve the gap in access unless the quality and efficacy of the assistance are high. Therefore, deeper changes are required in regard to the execution of justice. By tapping into the resources of the labor sector, access to legal services could become a benefit through union contracts. This would allow workers and their families to have guaranteed legal assistance at a predetermined rate.4 This concept is not just a utopian idea; instead, it is a reality. There are already institutions that have established legal insurance plans including the Canadian Autoworkers Legal Services Plan.5 Another barrier to legal services is physical access. Frequently, professionals including judges, attorneys, and administrative staff as well as physical spaces like courthouses are sparse in rural and disadvantaged areas. Efforts to create mobile courts and courthouses in these areas can dramatically improve access to underprivileged communities. The final room for systemic change in the legal system is in terms of quality of services. Legal education can become more uniform through encouraging the recording of cases and their resolution to promote consistency, and the training of issues regarding women and marginalized groups needs to be expanded. This training can be crucial especially with the prevalence of justice issues that now frequently circulate issues of racism, domestic violence, discrimination along numerous lines, etc.6 Permanent changes to the system promoting equity is essential to progress.
Finally, like so many institutional issues that prevail in modern society, the ultimate solution is education. Legal literacy needs to become commonplace, and society's knowledge of the legal system needs to come from structured environments, not "Legally Blonde" - or worse "How to Get Away with Murder". Law can be seen as a source of intimidation and fear as it has often been weaponized against certain communities to strip them of their legal rights, including voting. However, beneath the layers of Latin, knowledge of the law is fundamental to society and essential to protecting yourself and others. Expanding access to easy-to-understand information about legal rights and options enables everyone to make responsible decisions and takes society much closer to closing the discrepancies in access to justice. Education is the world's greatest equalizer, and we need to ensure that all communities, especially marginalized ones, have access to this education. Having legal clinics and community events providing legal information in regards to government services, protections against discrimination and violence, foreclosures, tax collection, and much more is crucial.7 The internet and technology also provide an opportunity to share resources across an increasing audience, despite physical distance. Therefore, initiatives that provide legal education for free across wide audiences are the future.
Through a combination of temporary initiatives, structural legal changes, and the long-term promotion of legal literacy, we can make significant strides to bringing everyone their human rights including access to justice. Especially as more diverse audiences are included in the discussion of improving the legal system, we inherently will generate more unique solutions to improve access to high-quality legal support because it is the cornerstone to progress. And as we work to equalize justice, we begin to take strides to dismantle the countless forces that seek to alienate people from the law and - more importantly - one another.
Works Cited
1 “Human Rights and Access to Justice.” American Bar Association, www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law/what-we-do/human-rights-access-to-justice/#:~:text=International%20standards%20recognize%20access%20to,other%20universally%20recognized%20human%20rights.
2 DeMeola, Zachariah. “Pro Bono Work Should Be Encouraged and Celebrated, But Much, Much More Is Needed.” IAALS, 18 Oct. 2019, iaals.du.edu/blog/pro-bono-work-should-be-encouraged-and-celebrated-much-much-more-needed.
3 “Innovations That Could Improve Access to Justice.” Equal Justice Initiative, Canadian Bar Association, www.cba.org/CBA-Equal-Justice/About/Innovations-that-could-improve-access-to-justice
4 “Pro Bono.” American Bar Association, 20 Jan. 2021, www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/pro_bono/.
5Unifor Legal Services Plan, www.uniforlsp.com/faq.htm#4.
6 “Necessary Condition: Access to Justice.” United States Institute of Peace, 4 Jan. 2010, www.usip.org/guiding-principles-stabilization-and-reconstruction-the-web-version/rule-law/access-justice.
7 “Legal Literacy Programmes.” United Nations Development Programme: Capacities, Focus, Legal, www.undp-capacitydevelopment-health.org/en/legal-and-policy/enabling-legal-environments/legal-literacy-programmes/.
Thanks for reading,
Janvi :)
Interesting but debatable issue well put across by Dear Janvi. My understanding is that the pro bono or low bono are a voluntary action, amounting to charity in a way. Can it be imposed or enforced by the State; perhaps no in the Capitalist or Socialist World. However, it could be an altogether different ballgame in a Communist or Dictatorship regime. In realty, as a part of right to live a decent life, justice and health services are a necessity which everyone may not be able to afford equally. Obvious answer for the sake of equality would be that the State pays for it; but then isn’t that the Socialistic pattern, whereby actually the honest taxpayer is paying for others, the so called unfortunate ones. Is that what we want, to forcibly burden the honest citizens?
ReplyDeleteCan we think slightly differently? We all take insurance policies in one form or another for our life, movable and immovable assets (house, car, household goods and so on) and also for health. Can we think of introducing suitable and affordable Justice Insurance Policies for all? Could that become the answer to our prayers for access to equal justice for all; perhaps a win-win situation?