ABA YLD

ABA Center for Innovation Launches with Fresh Opportunities for Young Lawyers
By: Rusty O’Kane

The American Bar Association (ABA) and its Commission on the Future of Legal Services recently created the ABA Center for Innovation aimed at using technology to ensure wider and more affordable access to legal services.

Easy access to affordable legal services is critical to ensuring justice for all. It is no secret, though, that our courts are seriously underfunded and many people who need legal services cannot afford them, or their disputes do not justify the cost of a lawyer. The result is a nation of people forced to represent themselves. At the same time, technology is transforming the way in which legal services are accessed and delivered, and there are opportunities available to reach a broader class of legal consumers.

Young lawyers, who largely grew up in the technology age, are now well-positioned to lead the effort to leverage technology to deliver legal services more effectively and efficiently. To help achieve these goals, the ABA established the Commission on the Future of Legal Services. After numerous meetings and two years of research, the commission released a final report in mid-August announcing the creation of the Center for Innovation. The report revealed that approximately 80 percent of the civil legal needs of lower to middle-income citizens are not met nationwide (note: if you want to read the findings of the report, they can be accessed here.

The Center for Innovation will focus on projects that use technology to help navigate individuals through the modern legal system. As part of that effort, the Center for Innovation is enlisting the ideas of young lawyers to ensure its success. ABA YLD Chair-elect Dana Hrelic was recently appointed to the commission’s governing council. In this role Dana will contribute to the direction that Center for Innovation projects take and also provide feedback to the YLD regarding the center’s upcoming projects.

In addition to having a young lawyer leader on the governing council, the Center for Innovation also has opportunities on the horizon to encourage the participation of young lawyers nationwide. One of the most notable programs is a one-year fellowship for recent law school graduates. The fellowship will feature an opportunity for recent graduates to work on the center’s existing projects, as well as allowing the fellow to develop ideas that they believe will promote the center’s mission of efficient and affordable delivery of legal services. The fellowship application will be available on the Center for Innovation’s website in the coming months.

Be on the lookout for ways you can become involved and help the Center for Innovation change the face of the legal profession.

Rusty O’Kane is an associate in the Dallas office of Wick Phillips Gould & Martin. He is the District 26 representative for the ABA/YLD, representing North and West Texas. He can be reached by email at rusty.okane@wickphillips.com.