Works in Progress Group 7: Access to Justice: Non-Attorney Representation

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Session Type: Works-in-Progress

Session Capacity: N/A

Hotel: N/A

Room: Union Square 3&4

Floor: 4th Floor

Group #7: Access to Justice: Non-Attorney Representation

Systems Change in Immigrant Access to Justice: Educating Immigrant Advocates and Accredited Representatives for Justice
Michele R. Pistone, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
As a law professor at Villanova University, I headed a clinic that helped hundreds of asylum seekers gain protection in the United States. Most immigrants face the immigration system without legal representation of any sort. This unfortunate and seemingly intractable state of affairs motivated me to try to create a solution that went beyond exhortations for lawyers to “do more,” which is, in the end, what most suggested policy reforms have amounted to. It made me think, if harnessing the energies of lawyers has proven, over many years, only minimally successful in addressing the problem of unrepresented litigants, maybe we should take a different approach. Five years later, the solution I landed on has begun to prove its viability, and clearly has the potential to substantially increase the number of represented immigrants.
This article begins by explaining the extent of the access to justice problem in immigration and the inability of lawyers to meet the demand for low cost or pro bono legal representation. The next section suggests a solution to the problem through Department of Justice accredited representatives. That section describes the long-standing regulations authorizing “accredited representative” to provide legal services to immigrants with applications before the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (“Immigration Services”) and in removal proceedings before immigration court. The final section puts forth a plan for increasing the pool of accredited representatives through an educational program and surrounding support within the legal services ecosystem.
The First Thing We Do, is Train the Non-Lawyers: Embracing Non-Lawyer Representation for Eviction Suits
Greg M. Zlotnick, St. Mary’s University School of Law

Evictions routinely take place in justice, small claims, or other courts with streamlined procedures often dubbed "people's courts." Yet people at the brink of housing insecurity routinely face eviction suits without people to advocate for and with them. This includes not only the assistance of licensed attorneys, but also of limited legal practitioners, housing navigators, or--in some jurisdictions--authorized agents, representatives, or "other individual" authorized to assist.

I argue that the legal profession, and law schools in particular, should embrace existing pathways for training eligible and interested individuals to assist tenants facing eviction. While much attention has rightfully been paid to reforming existing laws to permit non-attorney participation, existing rules may already permit this approach to expanding access to justice.

This paper will use the existing regulatory framework in Texas--a high-population state with laws generally friendly to landlords--as model rules for engagement. It will also survey other jurisdictions and their approaches to non-attorney representation in eviction court. And, it will examine Alaska's recent creation of the Community Legal Worker program (as well as a similar program in Delaware) as practical models for implementation.