Proof Over Precedent - Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School

Latest Episodes:

Episode 22: Exploring Involuntary Commitment and Legal Reforms Nov 11, 2025

Show notes

In this "Student Voices" episode of Proof Over Precedent, HLS student Aarushi Solanki discusses involuntary commitment laws for psychiatric patients in Massachusetts, where the process of holding separate commitment and treatment hearings winds up denying patients access to timely treatment.

Cartoon depicting website navigation as searching for a needle in a haystack — **Episode 20: Caught in the Web — Government Websites and Accessibility** Oct 27, 2025
Show notes
Image by Courtney Chrystal, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School
Access to justice via government websites should mean ease of digital access to information. But what if your simple search on filing for a restraining order returned lists of forms in legalese or 37 pages of links to weed through for the appropriate form? In this Student Voices episode of Proof Over Precedent, J.D. candidate Spencer Thieme argues for simple and inexpensive upgrades to state and federal government websites to improve accessibility for the nonlawyers and non-government workers.

Read the corresponding blog post.

Speakers:

Spencer Thieme, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School

Rachel Barkin, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School

Resources mentioned:

E-Government Act of 2002

United Kingdom government website

Official California website

Hick’s Law

Fitts’s Law

Share feedback and relevant topics you would like the A2J Lab to discuss: a2jlab@law.harvard.edu

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Proof Over Precedent cover art by Courtney Chrystal

**Episode 19: How to Grow from a Global Study Setback** Oct 20, 2025
Show notes
Image by Felicia Quan, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School
Early this year, the A2J Lab was expanding globally for the first time, bringing its mission to study access to justice to both Kenya and Tunisia — and just about half-way through its study — when a federal stop-work order abruptly shut down the project. In this episode of Proof Over Precedent, we have no study results to report about the project that intended to look at whether prompt access to quality representation affects legal and social outcomes for defendants in misdemeanors and petty offenses in the two African nations. Instead, the A2J Lab’s Renee Danser shares her experience working on the lab’s first global project, the intentions of the study and the progress it made through January this year, and the lessons learned from both an international project and the discontinuation of the study. Primary takeaway: remain hopeful and persistent as we continue to look for funding to restart the project.

Read the corresponding blog post.

Speakers:

Renee Danser, Associate Director of Research and Strategic Partnerships, Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School

Michelle Blouin, Communications Associate, Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School

Resources mentioned:

International Legal Foundation (ILF)

Justice Initiatives Global

Share feedback and relevant topics you would like the A2J Lab to discuss: a2jlab@law.harvard.edu

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Proof Over Precedent cover art by Courtney Chrystal

**Episode 18: No Money Down Bankruptcy, Part II — Navigating Possible Solutions** Oct 13, 2025
Show notes
Image by Felicia Quan, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School
More bankruptcy cases were filed in 2024 than all other civil cases in federal court combined – a factor that should make access to the bankruptcy filing process a priority in the U.S., HLS student Joe Liberman argues in this Student Voices podcast. Part II of this series discusses potential reforms, including changing attorney fee structures, simplifying the bankruptcy process, and making information about legal representation more accessible.

Read the corresponding blog post.

Listen to Part 1 of the podcast or read Part 1 of the blog post.

Speakers:

Joe Liberman, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School

Aarushi Solanki, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School

Resources mentioned:

Chapter 7 – Bankruptcy Basics

Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics

Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005

Share feedback and relevant topics you would like the A2J Lab to discuss: a2jlab@law.harvard.edu

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Proof Over Precedent cover art by Courtney Chrystal

Cartoon depicting how — **Episode 17: The Inaccessibility of a Financial Fresh Start** Oct 06, 2025
Show notes
Image by Courtney Chrystal, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School
Is the financial reset system too difficult to navigate? In this “Student Voices” episode of Proof Over Precedent, HLS J.D. candidate Joe Liberman discusses the complexities and accessibility issues associated with “no-money-down” bankruptcy filings that often hurt the people who can least afford these particular filings.Closer scrutiny to legal fees associated with bankruptcy filings may help steer incentives toward the debtor rather than the attorney working with the filer.

Read the corresponding blog post.

Speakers:

Joe Liberman, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School

Andrew Reed, J.D. candidate, Harvard Law School

Resources mentioned:

Chapter 7 – Bankruptcy Basics

Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics

*Lamie v. United States Trustee*

‘Consumer Bankruptcy and Financial Health’, National Bureau of Economic Research

‘How the Bankruptcy System is Failing Black Americans’, *ProPublica*

‘No Money Down’ Bankruptcy, *Southern California Law Review*

Share feedback and relevant topics you would like the A2J Lab to discuss: a2jlab@law.harvard.edu

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Proof Over Precedent cover art by Courtney Chrystal

Episode 15: Pro Se Problems -- Defining and Deploying Legal Knowledge Sep 22, 2025

Show notes

In this “Student Voices” episode of Proof Over Precedent, HLS J.D. candidate Rachel Barkin discusses the challenges faced by pro se litigants in complying with civil procedure rules. While interpretation of legal language may be an obstacle, she argues that "deployability" is the more significant hurdle for self-represented litigants.