Research Database

Legal Tech for Non-Lawyers: Report of the Survey of US Legal Technologies

This report canvasses the findings from a U.S. survey that identified digital technologies developed to help non-lawyers with justice problems. The survey identified 322 technologies designed for use by non-lawyers in US jurisdictions that were in existence as of Autumn The research focuses largely on access to justice in low-income communities and others who currently […]

Self-Represented Litigants & Legal Doctrines of “Vexatiousness”

This report canvasses Canadian case law on cases involving self-represented litigants, with a view to exploring trends in legal decisions regarding “vexatiousness” on the part of people representing themselves in court proceedings. The report flags concerns about conflation between intentional process “abuse” by people representing themselves and genuine confusion and mistakes that people might make […]

Summaries of Randomized Control Trials in the US Legal Profession

This research tool provides summaries of 50 randomized control trial studies conducted in the U.S. The studies were identified in 2016 research by Harvard’s A2J Lab. That research defined “randomized control trials” as studies that met five criteria: They had to be conducted in the United States They must have been field studies of real-world […]

Tracking the Trends of the Self-Represented Litigant Phenomenon: Data from the National Self-Represented Litigants Project, 2018/2019

This report collates and analyzes data gathered from intake for the National Self-Represented Litigants Project from January 2018 to June 2019. Core demographics – gender, income, education, age etc – of the population of self-represented litigants were tracked, and the results were consistent with studies conducted in other countries. Also consistent is the finding that […]

Everyday Legal Problems and the Cost of Justice in Canada: Cost of Justice Survey Data

This report contains comprehensive data from a national random sample telephone survey of over 3,000 Canadians conducted by the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice in 2013-2014. According to the researchers, “the purpose of the study was to examine the nation’s experience with the justice system, and in particular, the kinds, methods of dealing with, and costs […]

Literacy Requirements of Court Documents: An Unexplored Barrier to Access to Justice

This report explores using a “functional literacy” framework to evaluate whether court and tribunal forms used in Canada are overly complex. The functional literacy framework acknowledges that “adults do not read printed materials in a vacuum but read them within a context or for a particular purpose.” The researchers used this framework and a rating […]

Cases Without Counsel: Our Recommendations After Listening to the Litigants

This report offers recommendations to improve access to justice for self-represented litigants in family courts. The recommendations are based on a qualitative empirical research study discussed in a companion report- researchers spoke to self-represented litigants, judges, and court staff in four American jurisdictions. The report recommends overall a coordinated response to better meet the needs […]

Cases Without Counsel: Research on Experiences of Self-Representation in U.S. Family Court

This report shares findings from a United States qualitative empirical research study that explored the issue of self-representation from the perspective of self-represented litigants. The study, conducted in four American jurisdictions, was modeled on similar work conducted in three Canadian provinces by the National Self-Represented Litigants’ Network. Researchers interviewed 128 self-represented litigants in total – […]

Everyday Legal Problems and the Cost of Justice in Canada: Overview Report

This report summarizes the findings from a national random sample telephone survey of over 3,000 Canadians conducted by the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice in 2013-2014. According to the researchers, “the purpose of the study was to examine the nation’s experience with the justice system, and in particular, the kinds, methods of dealing with, and […]

Self-Help, Reimagined

This report describes a legal self help project started in the State of Maine to better help low and moderate income people deal with consumer law problems on their own. Researchers working on the project started with the premise that self-help materials cannot be successful unless: people can find the materials in a timely fashion […]