Responsive Law

Responsive Law Files Brief Supporting the Right to Receive Legal Information

Brief Urges Court to Uphold New Yorkers' First Amendment Right to Receive Legal Information by Tom Gordon In a brief filed yesterday, Responsive Law urged the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to uphold a lower court decision preventing the New York attorney general...

Last Chance to Support Responsive Law in 2022 -

Top Stories 2022 We've compiled our top five stories of 2022. Starting December 19, we'll be updating this page every weekday until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your...

2022 Countdown #1: California Legislature Prohibits State Bar from Studying Legal Access Reforms -

Top Stories 2022 We've compiled our top five stories of 2022. Starting December 19, we'll be updating this page every weekday until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your...

2022 Countdown #2: Former Utah Supreme Court Justice Deno Himonas Becomes President of Responsive Law -

Top Stories 2022 We've compiled our top five stories of 2022. Starting December 19, we'll be updating this page every weekday until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your...

2022 Countdown #3: Federal Court Protects Non-Lawyer Advice Program from UPL Prosecution -

Top Stories 2022 We've compiled our top five stories of 2022. Starting December 19, we'll be updating this page every weekday until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your...

2022 Countdown #4: ABA Votes To Reaffirm Its Antipathy to Consumers -

Top Stories 2022 We've compiled our top five stories of 2022. Starting December 19, we'll be updating this page every weekday until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your...

2022 Countdown #5: U.S. Continues to Provide Worse Access to Legal Help Than World's Poorest Countries -

2022 Countdown #5: U.S. Continues to Provide Worse Access to Legal Help Than World's Poorest Countries We’re counting down our top five stories of 2022. We’ll be sending you a new story each weekday until we reach #1. You can see the whole list here.

Many people are frustrated by hard it is to find affordable help for legal matters. But they often don’t know how lawyers’ self-regulation of the legal industry has caused this problem. Lawyers have prohibited non-lawyers from providing legal help. They’ve also prevented innovative business models that could make lawyers more affordable.

Responsive Law is a national nonprofit working to reform the regulations that stand between you and affordable legal help. You can learn more about our work at a reception in Washington, DC on Thursday, May 19, welcoming former Utah Supreme Court Justice Deno Himonas as our new board president.

There’s no charge to attend, but we’ll be asking for donations toward our goal of raising $10,000 from this event. I hope you'll be able to join us, hear a little bit about our work, meet Justice Himonas, and enjoy food and drinks courtesy of law firm Wilson Sonsini on their beautiful downtown rooftop. Registration is required (as is vaccination), so please go to the link below to RSVP.

DC Reception Welcome former Utah Supreme Court Justice Deno Himonas as our new board president.

In the DC area? Join us on May 19 at a reception to welcome former Utah Supreme Court Justice Deno Himonas as our new board president. Register and/or make a donation at https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTQ5ODk0

2019 Top Five

2019 Top Five Stories #1: Arizona and Utah Begin Path to Fostering Affordable Mass-Market Legal Services https://responsivelaw.org/2019-top-five.html

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2019. Starting December 16, we'll be updating this page daily until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

2019 Top Five

2019 Top Five Stories #2: ABA Responds to Pressure, Preserves Access to Online Legal Doc Prep

https://responsivelaw.org/2019-top-five.html

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2019. Starting December 16, we'll be updating this page daily until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

2019 Top Stories Countdown #3: Will CA Task Force Recommendations Go Far Enough To Help Legal Consumers?

https://www.responsivelaw.org/2019-top-five.html

2019 Top Five

2019 Top Stories Countdown #4: Ticket-Fighting App Wins Round One in Florida; Supreme Court is Next https://responsivelaw.org/2019-top-five.html

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2019. Starting December 16, we'll be updating this page daily until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

2019 Top Five

Our Top Five Stories of 2019, #5: RI Supreme​ Court Deciding Whether Lawyers Are Required for Real Estate Closings

https://responsivelaw.org/2019-top-five.html

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2019. Starting December 16, we'll be updating this page daily until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

ABA To Consider Proposed "Best Practices" for Online Document Preparers

What's next? Auto manufacturers proposing expensive "best practices" for bikes, buses, and subways in the name of transportation safety?

responsivelaw.org ​by Tom Gordon A set of proposed best practices for online document preparation software is scheduled to be voted on by the American Bar Association House of Delegates at the ABA Midyear Meeting on...

2018 Top Five

2018 Top Stories #1: New York State Bar Association Fails to Sneak Rule Against Legal Self-Help Software Through ABA, Will Try Again in January

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2018. Starting December 17, we'll be updating this page daily until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

2018 Top Five

2018 Countdown #2: RI Supreme Court to : Please File a Formal Motion Asking Permission to File Informally

Learn how the court is preventing our nonprofit from engaging in its policymaking (not appellate litigation) process.

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2018. Starting December 17, we'll be updating this page daily until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

2018 Top Five

2018 Top Stories Countdown #3: Traffic Ticket App Sues Florida Bar for Antitrust Violation https://www.responsivelaw.org/2018-top-five.html

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2018. Starting December 17, we'll be updating this page daily until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

2018 Top Five

2018 Top Stories Countdown #4: Defeating Indemnification for Self-Regulating Lawyers in California https://www.responsivelaw.org/2018-top-five.html

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2018. Starting December 17, we'll be updating this page daily until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

2018 Top Five

Top Stories of 2018 Countdown - #5: Avvo Ends Fixed-Fee Services After Attacks by Bar

In July, Avvo discontinued its popular fixed-fee legal services after several state bars prohibited their members from participating in the service. As a result, consumers have been denied one of the most useful methods of finding fixed-price legal help for typical matters such as wills, incorporations, and uncontested divorces.

Responsive Law has warned state bars that prohibiting lawyers from participating in such services could subject the bar and its leadership to antitrust liability.

https://www.responsivelaw.org/2018-top-five.html

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2018. Starting December 17, we'll be updating this page daily until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

After Repeated Attacks by Bar, Avvo Ends Popular Fixed-Fee Legal Services Portal https://bit.ly/2lYkmv6

NJ Supreme Court Rejects Responsive Law's Request to Review Avvo Advisor Ban

By not reviewing an ethics opinion barring participation in Advisor, the New Jersey Supreme Court has lessened consumers' access to justice. It has also set up the lawyers who approved the opinion for an antitrust suit.

responsivelaw.org ​Written by Tom Gordon ​The New Jersey Supreme Court has declined to review a bar ethics opinion prohibiting lawyers from participating in fixed fee legal services platforms such as Avvo Advisor....

2017 Top Five Stories

Our Top Five Stories of 2017: #1: CA Reduces Self-Regulation of Lawyers, Sets Precedent for Other States

http://www.responsivelaw.org/2017-top-five-stories.html

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2017. We'll be updating this page every Tuesday and Thursday until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

2017 Top Five Stories

Our Top Five Stories of 2017: #2: State Bars Issue Mixed Rulings on Fixed-Fee Legal Services

http://www.responsivelaw.org/2017-top-five-stories.html

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2017. We'll be updating this page every Tuesday and Thursday until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

2017 Top Five Stories

Our Top Five Stories of 2017: #3: ABA, States Consider Changes to Lawyer Advertising Rules

http://www.responsivelaw.org/2017-top-five-stories.html

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2017. We'll be updating this page every Tuesday and Thursday until we reach #1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

Florida Bar Casts Itself As Victim of Ticket-Fighting Startup It's Trying To Shut Down

It's not plausible for a $69M organization with regulatory power over an industry to be the victim of a SLAPP suit.

responsivelaw.org Written by Tom Gordon Almost every driver has gotten a traffic ticket at some point. And almost every one of those drivers would have liked to have exercised their right to fight the ticket in court....

2017 Top Five Stories

Our Top Five Stories of 2017: #4: Florida Bar Tries To Shut Down Popular Ticket-Fighting Service

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2017. We'll be updating this page every Tuesday and Thursday until we reach #1. S ubscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

2017 Top Five Stories

Our Top Five Stories of 2017: #5 Responsive Law Director Named One of Law's Top Innovators

responsivelaw.org We've compiled our top five stories of 2017. We'll be updating this page every Tuesday and Thursday until we reach #1. S ubscribe to our e-newsletter to receive these updates in your mailbox.

Fastcase 50 | Fastcase

We're thrilled to have Executive Director Tom Gordon named to this year's Fastcase 50, "honoring the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, & leaders."

fastcase.com Honoring the law's smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, & leaders. Lawyer or nonlawyer, techie or nontechie, anyone is eligible.

Tom Gordon - Responsive Law - Legal Luminary 014 | Evolve Law

Listen to Responsive Law Executive Director Tom Gordon on this podcast discussing innovation, regulation, and consumer access to legal services.

evolvelawnow.com Summary Host Jules Miller talks with Tom Gordon, Executive Director of Responsive Law, which is the only organization that represents the interests of individuals in the legal industry. For the latest topics, trends and tech in the legal industry, subscribe to Evolve Law Podcast: A Catalyst for Lega...

Responsive Law - VA Bar Backs Off Restrictions on Fixed Fee Legal Services

In the face of opposition from Responsive Law, the Virginia State Bar (VSB) has backed off from a proposed ethics opinion that would have restricted Virginians’ ability to use affordable fixed-fee legal services.

responsivelaw.org In the face of opposition from Responsive Law, the Virginia State Bar (VSB) has backed off from a proposed ethics opinion that would have restricted V...

Proposed Advertising Rules Could Improve Consumer Awareness of Lawyers' Services

Proposed Advertising Rules Could Improve Consumer Awareness of Lawyers' Services

http://responsivelaw.org/index.php/blog/item/149-proposed-advertising-rules-could-improve-consumer-awareness-of-lawyers-services

responsivelaw.org Responsive Law recently submitted comments to the American Bar Association regarding proposed rule changes to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct...

Responsive Law - Top Five Stories of 2016

We're counting down our top five stories of 2016.

#1: Disappointing ABA Commission Identifies What’s Wrong With Regulation of Lawyers But Fails to Act

In August, the American Bar Association’s Commission on the Future of Legal Services released its final report, identifying key components of the access to justice crisis but stopping short of recommending concrete reforms. Responsive Law had testified to the Commission multiple times and urged it to recommend a wide range of reforms to protect consumers’ access to the legal system.

The Commission found that people aren’t getting legal help or can’t locate it, and that “the legal profession continues to resist change, not only to the public’s detriment but also its own.” Instead of removing the regulatory barriers it decried, however, the Commission merely encouraged courts and state bars to “consider,” “examine,” and “engage in continued exploration of” reform.

Responsive Law Executive Director Tom Gordon condemned the Commission's recommendations as “milquetoast pronouncements falling woefully short of any functional reform of the legal system."

responsivelaw.org It’s been a busy year here at Responsive Law, and we wanted to remind you of some of the top developments from the past twelve months. Starting on December 16, we’ll be counting down the top five stories that have affected your ability to easily find affordable legal help. We'll be revealing a new i...

Responsive Law - Top Five Stories of 2016

We're counting down our top five stories of 2016.

#2: CA Bar Refuses to Implement Supreme Court Ruling

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission established that professional organizations may not use their authority as regulators to stifle market competition. Throughout the year, the State Bar of California (SBC) has refused to recognize that this ruling applies to it. This refusal leaves consumers of legal services with no effective avenue to reform regulations that harm them, and could subject the SBC to antitrust suits.

In its 2016 session, the California Legislature attempted to address these shortcomings when considering the SBC's annual authorization to collect dues from its members. The Assembly version of the dues bill, supported by Responsive Law, would have required that the SBC be governed by a non-lawyer majority board, but the Senate refused to accept this condition and the Legislature adjourned without passing a dues bill.

The SBC then asked the California Supreme Court to authorize it to collect dues without legislative approval. The California Supreme Court acquiesced to this demand, despite a brief from Responsive Law asking it to impose public oversight of the SBC's anticompetitive actions as a condition of its authorization.

"The California Supreme Court's decision is an unfortunate defeat for consumers of legal services, who need a judicial system more responsive and accountable to the public interest," stated Responsive Law Executive Director Tom Gordon. "In California and across the nation, state bars need to adapt their practices both to serve the public and to conform with the U.S. Supreme Court's standards for professional regulatory organizations."

responsivelaw.org It’s been a busy year here at Responsive Law, and we wanted to remind you of some of the top developments from the past twelve months. Starting on December 16, we’ll be counting down the top five stories that have affected your ability to easily find affordable legal help. We'll be revealing a new i...

Responsive Law - Top Five Stories of 2016

We're counting down our top five stories of 2016.

#3: New Portal Offers Affordable, Innovative Legal Help

This year, Responsive Law launched a legal resources portal on its website that gathers affordable, high-quality legal resources into one easily accessible location. Partners in the legal services portal provide legal assistance at rates affordable to the average American.

While the portal is free to use, consumers can also receive discounts of up to 50% on these services by joining Responsive Law's Legal Discount Plan for $25 a year. Among the portal's resources are lawyers who charge $39 for a 15-minute consultation, a low flat fee for a lawyer to tackle a particular task, or a low monthly fee for on-demand legal help.

responsivelaw.org It’s been a busy year here at Responsive Law, and we wanted to remind you of some of the top developments from the past twelve months. Starting on December 16, we’ll be counting down the top five stories that have affected your ability to easily find affordable legal help. We'll be revealing a new i...

Responsive Law - Top Five Stories of 2016

We're counting down our top five stories of 2016.

#4: Responsive Law Introduces Policy Advisory Board

Drawing upon a wide range of academia and advocacy experts, this year Responsive Law inaugurated its Policy Advisory Board, which provide expertise and support to the organization's advocacy efforts.

Among the members of the advisory board are:

- Deborah Rhode, the nation's most cited scholar on legal ethics;
- Alan Morrison, co-founder with Ralph Nader of the Public Citizen Litigation Group;
- David Vladeck, former Director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection

Rounding out the advisory board are Martha Bergmark, Jordan Furlong, Oliver Goodenough, Gillian Hadfield, Margaret Hagan, Renee Knake, Rebecca Sandefur, and Charles Wolfram.

responsivelaw.org It’s been a busy year here at Responsive Law, and we wanted to remind you of some of the top developments from the past twelve months. Starting on December 16, we’ll be counting down the top five stories that have affected your ability to easily find affordable legal help. We'll be revealing a new i...

Responsive Law - Top Five Stories of 2016

We're counting down our top five stories of 2016.

#5: Lawyer Protectionism Causes U.S. to Fall in World Justice Rankings

In 2016, the U.S. fell to 94th out of 113 countries, in providing affordable and accessible access to justice, placing access to civil justice in the U.S. behind the conflict-torn nations of Sierra Leone and Myanmar.

responsivelaw.org It’s been a busy year here at Responsive Law, and we wanted to remind you of some of the top developments from the past twelve months. Starting on December 16, we’ll be counting down the top five stories that have affected your ability to easily find affordable legal help. We'll be revealing a new i...

Responsive Law - CA Supreme Court approves Special Regulatory Assessment Without Requiring State Bar Reform

On November 17, the California Supreme Court authorized its State Bar to collect interim dues from its members without heeding Responsive Law’s testimony that any such authorization should be tied to a requirement that the State Bar reform its monopolistic governance structures.

http://responsivelaw.org/index.php/blog/item/146-ca-supreme-court-approves-special-regulatory-assessment-without-requiring-state-bar-reform

responsivelaw.org In a disappointing move for proponents of public oversight of the bar, on November 17 the California Supreme Court authorized its State Bar Associatio...

The District of Columbia is considering a housing bill that would slightly expand the availability of lawyers to low-income tenants but misses an opportunity to foster innovative approaches by alternative legal service providers.
http://responsivelaw.org/images/testimony/RL%20testimony%20on%20Bill%20B21-0879.pdf

responsivelaw.org

Responsive Law has asked the Supreme Court of California to require the State Bar of California to address insufficient public oversight by reforming its governance structure. The Bar is requesting emergency funding from the California Supreme Court, and the request tellingly ignores the Court’s request that the Bar address its current structural shortcomings. The Bar’s failure to address this issue neglects U.S. Supreme Court precedent and Federal Trade Commission antitrust guidelines that make clear a need for public oversight over legal services’ regulation.
http://responsivelaw.org/images/testimony/Amicus%20Letter%20S237081.pdf

responsivelaw.org