How Self Help Centers can Improve Litigation in Your Court

1. How Self Help Centers can Improve Litigation in Your Court 2017 Annual AJA Educational Conference Cleveland, Ohio September 11, 2017

2. Help! I need somebody! Help!

3. The Panel • Hon. Francine B. Goldberg • Domestic Relations Court, Cuyahoga County, OH • Hon. Lisa Woodruff-White • Family Court, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA

4. The Panel • Gene Edwards • Legal Research Supervisor, Magistrate • Franklin County Municipal Court • Columbus, Ohio • Kevin J. Bowling • Court Administrator, Attorney Referee • 20th Circuit Court • Ottawa County, Michigan

5. Leadership can be difficult…

6. Overview • Self Represented Litigants (SRLs) • SRL Services • Benefits to the Courts • Procedural Fairness • Avoiding “Legal Advice” • Helpful Resources • Practical Applications • Q & A

7. SRLs in the Courts • Not a new concept • 2002 CCJ/COSCA Resolution #31 • Follow-up Resolution #5 in 2015 • Self Represented Litigant Network • https://www.srln.org/ • 3 out of 5 people in civil cases go to court without a lawyer • 75%+ of cases have at least 1 SRL • Self assessment toolkits for Courts • Additional concern caused by proposed elimination of all funding for Legal Services Corporation • Self Help Centers are part of the customer service solution

8. Recommended SRL Services • Plain language forms • Self help centers • Special court calendars • Simplified court processes • Caseflow management techniques (e.g., early judicial intervention) • Clinics or workshops • Self-help workstations • Navigators • Access to court ordered services • Multi-lingual court staff

9. Benefits to the Court Process • Increased participant satisfaction (including judges!) • Reduction in adjournments • Time savings in the courtroom • Cost savings • Improved performance measures (e.g., timeliness and clearance rates) • Improvements in Procedural Fairness

10. Focus on Procedural Fairness

11. Four Dimensions of Procedural Fairness • Respect • Voice • Neutrality • Trust • “…court users having a sense that decisions are made through court processes that are fair…”

12. Court staff - Being helpful without giving legal advice… • If you are asked for a “suggestion or recommendation” regarding a legal decision or a legal course of action, it is appropriate to advise the parties that you are not a lawyer and may not give legal advice. • Avoid using this message as a way of telling the public to “go away…I can’t help you”.

13. Court staff - Being helpful without giving legal advice… • Neutrality • Staff must remain neutral and not make judgments about what is in the parties’ best interests—only a party and his/her lawyer may do so. • Staff should not advise parties as to which remedies to seek or whether to avail themselves of a particular procedure or alternative.

14. Court staff - Being helpful without giving legal advice… • Impartiality • Staff have an absolute duty of impartiality. • We should never give advice or information for the purpose of favoring one party over another.

15. Resources

16. Michigan Legal Helpwww.michiganlegalhelp.org

17. Michigan Legal Helpwww.michiganlegalhelp.org

18. Resources • Self Represented Litigant Network • www.srln.org • Employee Guide to Legal Advice • https://mjieducation.mi.gov/documents/resources-for-trial-court-staff/6-employee-guide-to-legal-advice/file • Legal Information vs. Legal Advice • https://isc.idaho.gov/judicialedu/clerks/Grecean%20Article%20on%20Legal%20Advice.pdf • NCSC (KIS Division) Deb Smith, dsmith@ncsc.org, 757.259.1827

19. Resources • The NACM Core • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQHvPSbYtdA • Caseflow and Workflow Curriculum • Sec. 4.5 Self Help • Michigan Legal Help • www.MichiganLegalHelp.org • COSCA/NACM Joint Technology Committee (JTC) • Top 10 Technology Solutions Awards • ADR/ODR resources

20. NACM Top 10 Technology Solutions (#1) AZCourtHelp.org

21. Judge’s Comment on Arizona Tech Solution • “Prominent assistive technology that is easy to apply/use; fairly simple navigation; nice blend of text/graphics keeps information well organized and easy to find; videos are friendly and informative…” • “Great partnership with local libraries to assist self represented litigants”

22. NACM Top 10 Technology Solutions (#3) Show-Me Courts, Track This Case, Pay By Web, E-Filing, Mobile Optimization, Website Redesign Missouri OSCA https://www.courts.mo.gov/

23. Judge’s Comment on Missouri Tech Solution “Track this Case is where technology puts the power of finding information about a legal case in the public’s palm.”

24. NACM Top 10 Technology Solutions (#4) Self-Help Portal and My Court Card Superior Court of California, County of Orange https://selfhelp.occourts.org/

25. Practical Applications

27. Cuyahoga County Community CourtsDR Help Center “Ohio, like other states, has seen a growing number of people representing themselves in family matters out of financial necessity. Over 60% of our cases involve at least one self-represented party which adversely impacts all litigants.” Administrative Judge Rosemary Grdina Gold

29. The Help Center • DR Help Center officially launched May 1st 2017 • Offers both walk-in and telephone assistance • Process varies by the need of the parties

30. The Help Center Staff consists of: • a full-time, licensed attorney • help center specialists • a part-time, Office of Child Support Representative

31. Purpose • Provides assistance to pro-se litigants with: • Divorce • Dissolution • Post-decree • Child custody • Child support proceedings • Reduce the number of delayed cases due to inaccurate or incomplete paperwork • Does NOT provide legal advice strategy or research

32. Services • Provide court forms at no cost • Guide litigant through court procedures • Provide instructions on how to complete forms • Review completed forms for accuracy and timeliness • Help pro-se parties to locate free or low cost legal services, programs and mediation services

33. May – July 2017 Statistics • 2,003 Total Visitors • 51 largest number of In-Person Visitors in One Day • 33.2 Average Daily In-Person Visitors • 24.8 Average Number of Daily Phone Calls • 65.1% Need help with a divorce

34. May – July 2017 Statistics 86% of visitors did not speak to an attorney prior to coming to the Help Center

35. May – July 2017 Statistics 26.4% of visitors have an income of less than $10,000

36. May – July 2017 Statistics 60% of visitors are female

37. May – June 2017 Statistics 53.9% of visitors are African American

38. May – July 2017 Statistics 62.5% of visitors are between the age of 30 and 49

39. May – July 2017 Statistics 65.4% of visitors have 1-2 Children

40. Testimonials • “The Help Center Representative was patient, kind and very helpful.” • “Excellent service.” • “Please advertise your services to the public. This service is invaluable and the staff is awesome. Thank you for all of your help.” • “I think this a real need for many coming into court.” • Every question was answered and covered for us to understand.” • “No complaints. Very efficient.” • “Everything went very smoothly.” • “The help was amazing.”