Peter Lederer: A Modest Proposal

August 11th, 2021 / By

Peter Lederer brought unflagging inspiration and insight to the legal profession. On Sunday evening he sent me a copy of his latest essay, asking if I would like to publish it as a guest post here. I responded, of course, with enthusiasm–but I’m not sure that Peter saw my response. We all learned on Monday that Peter died Sunday night. With great sadness for his death, but immense gratitude for his words, I offer here Peter’s guest post:

A Modest Proposal, by Peter Lederer

From Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack of the Michigan Supreme Court comes a wise concept: using the “moment of disruption” where the door to fixing intractable problems has suddenly opened. Such moments come once in a century if that often.

Astute observers of the legal landscape hold that the present system is broken. Legal education, licensure, the inability to produce “practice-ready” lawyers after seven full years of prohibitively expensive training, are all under attack.

It is true that laudable efforts to bring about reform are underway. There are brilliant studies and recommendations; noble experiments have started in several states; a few dozen law schools have nurtured (or at least permitted) the pursuit of innovative programs. But unfortunately, all this has not moved the needle much. Moreover, many who are most deeply involved in the reform efforts believe that it will be, at best, a gradual process. Were this not enough, there is an overarching problem. Despite the hundreds of billions spent annually on legal services, the vast majority of the world’s people do not have access to legal services.

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Legal Education and the Justice Gap

April 29th, 2016 / By

I read recently about an organization that provides efficient, effective legal services to low- and middle-income clients. The organization, Chicago’s Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (“CARPLS“), has been serving clients for almost a quarter century. They currently help about 28,000 clients a year at an average cost of just $33 per consultation. How do they do it? And what can legal educators learn from CARPLS’s success? Read on.

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