This report was prepared in partnershup with the Mass. Trial Court to inform the development of a virtual self-help center to supplement the work done by its court service centers. This report will be valuable to any jurisdiction working to better serve S ...

This article presents the results from the first quantitative readability study of plain language court forms in the United States. Sixty citizens on a jury panel were selected to respond to brief questionnaires that tested relative comprehension of plain ...

This study is unique because it included the self-represented in its survey. From the Abstract: This report is based on surveys that examined the attitudes and perceptions of judges, the family law bar, family court staff, and self-represented litigants r ...

In this 1996 out of Australia, Gordon Mills and Mark Duckworth of Centre for Microeconomic Policy Analysis and Centre for Plain Legal Language at Sydney University found that the 1994 forms revisions in the Family Court of Australia resulted in 15% improv ...

The California Self-Help Centers’ Self-Assessment Tool for Quality Programs was developed as a strategic and tactical planning template to promote quality Self-Help Center Programs across California. The tool is designed to connect a wide range of initiat ...

The New York State Courts Access to Justice Program’s 2015 Report, entitled, Delivering Cost Effective Legal Services and Information in Challenging Economic Times was released January 2016 and can be found at  https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/ip/nya2j ...

The Canadian Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee’s Building Block #1 Access to Justice Metrics sought to develop a practical definition of access to justice and to identify tangible indicators and goals to measure progress. The Committee resolve ...

This document, now in its second version, summarizes forty-two best practices in court based self-help service innovation, with descriptions of each practice, suggested attributes, examples and contacts.   Recommended Citation, The Self-Represented Litiga ...

  The Center for Elder Rights Advocacy (CERA), a project of Elder Law of Michigan (ELM) provides technical assistance to state, regional, and local organizations in the design, implementation, administration, and evaluation of low-cost legal assistance de ...

A comprehensive best practices guide developed by New York covering the details of day-to-day operations of a self-help center, including a history of the New York state court help centers, initial considerations, types of services to offer, staffing and ...