Prerequisites: None

Exam Type: No Exam

Whether in solo, small firm or not for profit legal aid offices, new modes of serving clients of modest means offer promise of expanded access to legal advice and assistance but also pose ethical and professional challenges for the bar. This course explores new modes of practice such as: discrete task representation (unbundled legal services), collaborative law practice, advice and hot line services, on-line advice services, virtual law practices, and participation in court based lawyer of the day and other on-site assistance for self-represented litigants. In addition to a focus on the law and ethics of the profession, we will consider the implications of a rapidly changing profession for legal education, law practice management, the response of the organized bar to less lawyer-centric services, assuring service quality, assessing the outcome and cost-effectiveness of different approaches to service delivery, understanding the legal needs of people of modest means, and assuring that prospective consumers of legal services understand the service options available to them. In lieu of a final exam, students will, in consultation with the course instructor, develop a research project that reports on and analyzes the ethics, efficacy, and feasibility of new approaches to service delivery.

Some seats are reserved for students in the spring Delivery of Legal Services clinic. Students who enroll in the spring Delivery of Legal Services clinic will be enrolled in this course by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs. If a student drops the spring Delivery of Legal Services clinic they will also lose their reserved seat in this course. Please note that this course has an early drop deadline of TBD for students enrolled in reserved clinical seats.

Note: This course is only available to JD 3Ls and LLM students.

This course will meet on average of three hours per week.