Sophie Laing

The A2J Lab Hits the Conference Circuit

March 7, 2017 by Sophie Laing

A dispatch from Sophie, Chris & Erika

Over the last month, the A2J Lab decamped from snowy Boston to the rainy climes of Portland, OR for the National Association for Court Management (NACM) Midyear Meeting and blustery San Francisco for the first stand-alone Self-Represented Litigation Network (SRLN) conference. The former gathered court administrators from around the country to improve the public’s trust and confidence in the judiciary–a goal near and dear to the Lab. The latter opened with a keynote from Judge Lisa Foster, former Director of the DOJ Office for Access to Justice. She encouraged attendees to “create, innovate, [and] demonstrate” over two full days of discussions, research panels, and workshops regarding critical SRL issues.

Student Series: Deciphering Credit Reports

February 27, 2017 by Sophie Laing

Students have been hard at work this semester to continue to develop, test, and improve self-help materials that are part of the Lab’s Financial Distress Research Project (FDRP). There are over 4o students working with the Lab on projects, and within FDRP several student teams are tackling specific tasks such as bankruptcy form instructions, debt management, and applying for fee waivers. We have students figuring out the legal details of these forms as well as constructing the best designs to translate complicated information to a self-represented litigant. If you’ve been following our blog you’ve read about some of the challenges that arise along the way as students try to make legal information and forms comprehensible.

This week, we hear from Alina Wattenberg, a 3L working on credit card debt self-help packets.

The A2J Lab’s First Hackathon

February 20, 2017 by Sophie Laing

Jack Frost’s Boston relative might have covered the city in snow and forced several flight cancellations, but the A2J Lab pushed through with its first “hackathon” on Monday, February 13! Thanks to videoconferencing and collaborative technology–not to mention the dedication of expert colleagues–we assembled an energizing mix of Lab staff, designers, UX experts, behavioralists, lawyers, and, most importantly, a former guardianship client. Their charge was simple: brainstorm designs for self-help materials applicable to service of process in Massachusetts guardianship matters.

The A2J Lab’s YouTube Debut

February 16, 2017 by Sophie Laing

The A2J Lab is committed to producing rigorous empirical evidence to support effective innovation in legal services. We also are part of a movement to transform the legal profession into one that values–and embraces–evidence-based approaches to narrowing the justice gap. In addition to our field operations, national presentations, and published papers, the A2J Lab recently hosted its first hackathon. On the snowy morning of February 13, we brought together a fantastic mix of expert, creative minds to develop self-help materials for our guardianship service of process study.

In another first, we are pleased to introduce our YouTube channel!

Guardianship, Service of Process, and A2J

February 10, 2017 by Sophie Laing

From filing a petition to showing up for your first hearing, here is how you get a Minor Guardianship case started in Massachusetts.

That’s right, this diagram is just about service of process, or the steps necessary to just get the case, which can last several months, started. This diagram isn’t necessarily 100% correct either. Depending on the jurisdiction or the judge, certain types of service may be accepted with less paperwork or proof than others. Sometimes if litigants file a regular petition for guardianship after filing for temporary or emergency guardianship they must go through the service of process steps a second time.