CONFERENCE REPORT: Alternative Paths to Providing Legal Services

Nontraditional pathways for providing legal services were discussed at the American Bar Association’s 51st National Conference on Professional Responsibility, during the panel discussion entitled “You Can Go Your Own Way: New Pathways to Licensure & Access to Justice.”

Valerie Stanfill, Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, told the audience that, “Our profession is in trouble.” She said that it’s aging, there are more legal deserts, and there’s a greater inability to provide basic legal services to people.

The Report of the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform may supply some answers. Justice Stanfill said CLEAR was established ...