Page 217 - Leaders in Legal Business - PDF - Final 2018
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of FloodProof and explored efforts, in cooperation with the ABA Standing Committee on
Disaster Response and Preparedness1 and Louisiana Appleseed, to drive greater awareness and
use of these new technology resources. Through a collaborative effort with SLLS, LSU Law
School, Southern University Law School, Baton Rouge Bar Association, Louisiana Appleseed,
and local and state government, flood victims are being introduced to both the mobile app and
web platform to assist in recovery. The Center is now replicating the effort in other states.
The Center is collaborating on similar projects in many different areas, such as the
creation of a web-based tool to direct victims of hate crimes or bias incidents to available
resources, an app for law enforcement that would help translate Miranda warnings into other
languages, and the pairing of legal tech companies with legal aid offices so that cutting-edge
tools can enable frontline legal services lawyers to reach more clients. In short, bar associations
can marry their networks and substantive expertise with innovative thinking to have a positive
impact on how the public accesses essential legal services.
Embracing Other Professionals
Embracing change means welcoming a wide range of professionals who can contribute in
various ways. The Center’s volunteer leaders include people who have innovated outside of the
legal industry; in fact, one of the Center’s Innovation Fellows was a court administrator who was
not a lawyer.
Recognizing the role of other kinds of professionals also means an openness to rethinking
the regulation of legal services. In 2016, the ABA adopted Model Regulatory Objectives for the
Provision of Legal Services,2 and one of the explicit rationales for doing so was a recognition
that various kinds of professionals are playing an important role in the delivery of legal services.
The Model Regulatory Objectives set out some basic principles to help regulators and bar
associations think through their regulatory stances in light of these developments.
Conclusion
At an inflection point for the legal industry, bar associations must be at the vanguard of
change rather than a bulwark against it. If bars embrace their role as change agents, they will
ultimately serve both their members and the public more effectively.
1 ABA COMMITTEE ON DISASTER RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS, https://www.americanbar.org/groups/committees/disaster.html.
2 MODEL REGULATORY OBJECTIVES FOR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES (2016),
https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/directories/policy/2016_hod_midyear_105.docx.
203
Disaster Response and Preparedness1 and Louisiana Appleseed, to drive greater awareness and
use of these new technology resources. Through a collaborative effort with SLLS, LSU Law
School, Southern University Law School, Baton Rouge Bar Association, Louisiana Appleseed,
and local and state government, flood victims are being introduced to both the mobile app and
web platform to assist in recovery. The Center is now replicating the effort in other states.
The Center is collaborating on similar projects in many different areas, such as the
creation of a web-based tool to direct victims of hate crimes or bias incidents to available
resources, an app for law enforcement that would help translate Miranda warnings into other
languages, and the pairing of legal tech companies with legal aid offices so that cutting-edge
tools can enable frontline legal services lawyers to reach more clients. In short, bar associations
can marry their networks and substantive expertise with innovative thinking to have a positive
impact on how the public accesses essential legal services.
Embracing Other Professionals
Embracing change means welcoming a wide range of professionals who can contribute in
various ways. The Center’s volunteer leaders include people who have innovated outside of the
legal industry; in fact, one of the Center’s Innovation Fellows was a court administrator who was
not a lawyer.
Recognizing the role of other kinds of professionals also means an openness to rethinking
the regulation of legal services. In 2016, the ABA adopted Model Regulatory Objectives for the
Provision of Legal Services,2 and one of the explicit rationales for doing so was a recognition
that various kinds of professionals are playing an important role in the delivery of legal services.
The Model Regulatory Objectives set out some basic principles to help regulators and bar
associations think through their regulatory stances in light of these developments.
Conclusion
At an inflection point for the legal industry, bar associations must be at the vanguard of
change rather than a bulwark against it. If bars embrace their role as change agents, they will
ultimately serve both their members and the public more effectively.
1 ABA COMMITTEE ON DISASTER RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS, https://www.americanbar.org/groups/committees/disaster.html.
2 MODEL REGULATORY OBJECTIVES FOR THE PROVISION OF LEGAL SERVICES (2016),
https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/directories/policy/2016_hod_midyear_105.docx.
203
