Are Lawyers Required for Access to Justice?

Jonathan Smith of the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia wrote yesterday on their blog a response to an op-ed by Gillian Hadfield arguing that expanding non-lawyer legal help may be the necessary missing piece in ensuring that everyone has (more) equitable access to the justice system. Smith disagrees with Hadfield’s proposal, and argues quite eloquently as to the need for lawyers rather than just improving self-help options.

In an interesting article that underscores the importance of this debate, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran an article today on the lack of lawyers in the rural parts of the state. Georgia actually faces no shortage of attorneys, but 70% of them serve in the Atlanta metro area, leaving the rest of the state severely underserved, particularly as demands for free or low-cost legal services rise. If non-lawyer legal help isn’t the answer, then there must be a discussion on how to get the lawyers we have to serve the currently underserved (of course, that conversation is happening, as in the efforts to ensure a civil right to counsel which we have blogged about in the past).