It’s not just the court staff, from clerks to judges, who are handling increasing caseloads which are slowing the system down. It’s not just the new family laws going into effect in 2012 that will slow the system down (for an estimated 13 extra months to finalize a divorce in some CA courts). Now the court’s self-help assistance is taking a hit.
The Courts in this state piloted the self help programs several years after the birth of the LDA (legal document assistant) profession in response to the high demand for affordable consumer friendly legal services. Yet the money, careful study and time devoted to innovating the workshops and websites never came close to satisfying the ever-growing need for fair access to the justice system.
The San Mateo court’s website announces: “…As a result of this fiscal crisis, the California Superior Courts no longer have sufficient funding to keep the EZLegalFile court form completion program online and available for use after June 30, 2011…”
The Riverside court’s website has sample letters for visitors to use to write to our governor and legislators pleading with them not to cut funding. Many of the courts have cut their telephone hours. The Riverside court changed their phone numbers and it seems it was done deliberately so you can’t catch a live person for help.
Fortunately, the LDA profession, which was born just 10 years ago, can help fill in the gaps. Designed as a lawful alternative to the high cost of attorney’s fees, experienced and professional LDAs can save consumers lots of time in getting their legal problems resolved. Because of our knowledge of court rules, regulations and individual court policies, time isn’t wasted in the process of getting a judgment.
Even though CA mandated the LDA profession to help to make a difference, some voice the need for more non-lawyer legal services. USC Law & Economics Professor Gillian Hadfield, who was interviewed in “Law Without (As Many) Lawyers”, by Dan Watson suggests having new levels of licensed people, citing the medical profession as an example, which has many levels of different service providers.
As past president of the Inland Empire Chapter of the California Association of Legal Document Assistants, I’ve coordinated with the Riverside and San Bernardino family law facilitators (attorneys) to communicate with the LDAs in an effort to help the system be more efficient. They were grateful for the opportunity to teach outside professionals how they wanted things done as it would help relieve them of some of their massive workload.
For consumers who just cannot afford an attorney or who do not have complex legal issues to resolve, a bonded and registered LDA is the answer for completing legal documents and providing valuable resources, other than legal advice. Now many attorneys are available for legal advice and court representation without having to retain them for full service.
