Who Wrote That Up For You?

Latest Episodes:

Tom Gordon, Responsive Law - Who Wrote That Up For You? Oct 12, 2022 Oct 13, 2022

Show notes

Tom Gordon, executive director at Responsive Law, discussed the regulatory barriers that keep people from getting affordable legal solutions. He said state bars are designated by their supreme courts to regulate the unauthorized practice of law and rules against fee-splitting, but the way these regulations are enforced can often prevent innovators from providing new solutions to common legal issues.

Tom shared Responsive Law's efforts to advocate for consumers in regulatory actions nationwide, and some potential good news on that front in Michigan and North Carolina. Those in and around Raleigh-Durham, NC who want to support the work of Responsive Law may reach Tom at info@responsivelaw.org to join the upcoming fundraising event in the area.

– Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ResponsiveLaw
– Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ResponsiveLaw and https://twitter.com/ATomGordon
– Visit the website: https://www.responsivelaw.org/

For more on the need to fix U.S. courts, subscribe to "Who Wrote That Up For You?" wherever you listen to podcasts. If you're in court without a lawyer, visit courtroom5.com to get access to justice today.

Kristen Sonday, Paladin - Who Wrote That Up For You? Oct 11, 2022 Oct 12, 2022

Show notes

Kristen Sonday, CEO of Paladin, discussed the role of pro bono legal services in closing the justice gap. She also shared her thoughts on ways technology can help support pro bono causes. Paladin makes technology to aid pro bono champions at law firms in matching the firm's lawyers to pro bono opportunities.

– Connect on Medium: https://medium.com/join-paladin
– Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Paladin-1668298390082848/
– Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/joinpaladin and https://twitter.com/kristensonday
– Visit the website: https://www.joinpaladin.com/

Randolph Frails, Esq., Frails & Wilson - Who Wrote That Up For You? Oct 10, 2022 Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

Attorney Randolph Frails, senior partner at Frails & Wilson Attorneys at Law in Augusta, Georgia, discussed the wide variety of practice areas handled by the firm, from personal injury and estates to real estate and business law. He also discussed the growth of the firm over its 25-year history, from a single lawyer to now five lawyers and nine support staff. Attorney Frails shared several tips for those who must represent themselves in court, including the need to be concise in pleadings, to properly present evidence, and to respect the court in speech and dress.

– Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randolph-frails-a1b99057/
– Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Frails-Wilson-LLC-473125239436481/
– Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrailsWilson
– Visit the website: https://www.frailswilsonlaw.com/

Isabella's Bad Lawyer Experience - Who Wrote That Up For You? Oct 7, 2022 Oct 07, 2022

Show notes

Isabella and her partner Jo were beneficiaries of Jo's mom's wealthy estate, but they received a paltry check in the mail when mom passed away. The executor, mom's longtime neighbor with a knowledgeable trust manager, was hard to reach and ultimately refused to provide proper accounting for the trust.

Isabella and Jo hired a lawyer with 30 years of experience in probate matters. They paid a $10,000 retainer and then... nothing. After chasing the lawyer for a year and seeing the retainer drained, they learned the lawyer wanted $2-3000 monthly to continue. They never even got the file or their original documents back. Luckily, Isabella's trust is handled by a lawyer she trusts, so that bad prior experience didn't spoil her on the entire profession.

Joshua Weaver, TOJI; Claudia Johnson, Law Help Interactive - Who Wrote That Up For You? Oct 6, 2022 Oct 07, 2022

Show notes

Joshua Weaver, director at the Texas Opportunity & Justice Incubator (TOJI), described the incubator's programming to help lawyers provide access to justice to the large latent market for legal services in Texas. TOJI is accepting applications now for the next cohort of justice-minded and entrepreneurial Texas lawyers, a 12-month program that starts in January.

– Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/txoji
– Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/txoji/
– Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/txoji/
– Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/txoji
– Visit the website: https://txoji.com/

Claudia Johnson, program manager for Law Help Interactive (LHI), discussed the use of online forms for improving access to justice for people without lawyers. LHI has served 700,000 registered users and at least as many anonymous users who've downloaded or filed LHI forms to get protective orders or respond to evictions and many other civil issues.

– Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/C2AJ
– Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/claudia.colindresjohnson.7
– Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-johnson-5a47656/
– Visit LHI: https://lawhelpinteractive.org/
– Visit LawHelp: https://www.lawhelp.org/

Stacey Lake, Law Wurk - Who Wrote That Up For You? Oct 5, 2022 Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

Stacey Lake of Law Wurk joined #WhoWroteThat to discuss the challenges and opportunities of hiring nonlawyers for certain legal tasks, such as document preparation and court attendance in family law and eviction proceedings. Law Wurk is available in California, Nevada, Utah, and a few other states that permit nonlawyers to provide direct services to consumers outside the supervision of a lawyer, at a lower cost than retaining an attorney.

Stacey described the aggressive pushback from some lawyers concerned that Law Wurk and similar initiatives violate unauthorized practice of law (UPL) statutes, harm consumers, and take business away from lawyers. Stacey expressed confidence that other states would ultimately see the light of day and begin allowing this business model to help close the justice gap.

– Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lawwurk/
– Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawWurk
– Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LawWurk/
– Visit the website: https://www.lawwurk.com/

Otto Hanson, TermScout; Sonja & Debra Case Blunders - Who Wrote That Up For You? Oct 4, 2022 Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

#WhoWroteThat co-hosts Sonja and Debra shared some of their early blunders in court. After a failed eviction attempt revealed routine perjury in a property management company's landlord-tenant cases, Sonja and Debra tried playing heroes in court to stop this evil behavior. But they bungled the procedures and saw the case tossed at the very beginning. For those without legal training, competence in court comes from hard losses.

Otto Hanson of TermScout discussed the common business practice of providing terms and conditions of service that deprive consumers of their rights. Most consumers never read these terms and rarely understand they've waived their rights until something goes wrong. TermScout offers an automated contract review service that small businesses and consumers can use to highlight troublesome clauses in web-based contracts that most of us click-accept every day.

– Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/termscout/
– Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/termscout
– Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TermScout/
– Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/termscout/
– Visit the website: https://www.termscout.com/

Ed Walters, Fastcase - Who Wrote That Up For You? Oct 3, 2022 Oct 04, 2022

Show notes

Ed Walters is co-founder and CEO at Fastcase, a provider of software, data, and analytics that allow legal practitioners to work more efficiently. Ed shared the origin story of Fastcase and the gap in legal tools he and co-founder Phil Rosenthal sought to fill. He also discussed the numerous barriers to accessing law and justice, as well as some efforts judges and court administrators could take to address those barriers.

An adjunct professor at Georgetown Law and Cornell Law, Ed gave a masterclass on case dockets and the potential of that data to let us map the litigation space.

– Connect with Fastcase on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fastcase
– Connect with Ed Walters on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJWalters
– Visit the website: https://www.fastcase.com/

Aliza Shatzman, Legal Accountability Project - Who Wrote That Up For You? Sep 30, 2022 Sep 30, 2022

Show notes

Aliza Shatzman is co-founder and president of the Legal Accountability Project, an effort to hold judges accountable for their behavior toward the young lawyers who clerk for them. Aliza's legal career was derailed by a judge she'd served as a law clerk. As it turns out, this judge had a history of abusing his law clerks, and Aliza's law school knew his reputation and withheld that information from her. Aliza is working to create a database of judicial harassment that other law students can use to guide their clerkship choices.

When a judge abuses his power with a law clerk, you can just imagine how he treats the lawyerless litigants who must appear before him. The judge who abused Aliza is no longer on the bench because his reputation caught up with him. This doesn't happen often or quickly enough. The Legal Accountability Project could help root these judges out.

– Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliza-shatzman-58b55223
– Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlizaShatzman
– Visit the website: https://www.legalaccountabilityproject.org/

Miguel Willis, ATJ Tech Fellows; Carolyn Elefant, MyShingle - Who Wrote That Up For You? Sep 29, 2022 Sep 30, 2022

Show notes

Miguel Willis, executive director of Access to Justice Tech Fellows, discussed the summer fellowships for law students looking to create equitable legal access for low-income people. He also expressed a vision for the careers and opportunities these fellows will develop after law school.

– Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ATJTechFellows and https://twitter.com/MiguelElCapiTon
– Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atjtechfellows/ and https://www.instagram.com/miguelelcapiton/
– Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atjtechfellows/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/miguelhwillis/
– Visit the website: https://www.law.upenn.edu/futureprofessioninitiative/projects/access-to-justice-tech-fellows/

Carolyn Elefant, owner of MyShingle.com and author of Solo By Choice, described the challenges solo attorneys face and the concerns they express around providing legal services to DIY clients. She urged state bars and malpractice insurers to provide guidance and coverage to lawyers offering these unbundled legal services.

– Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynelefant/
– Connect on Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolynelefant
– Visit the website: https://myshingle.com/

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