From The Dean

There is a quiet crisis in this country, one that one that escapes the attention of many Americans. And it goes to the core of our justice system. In America today, at least one party is unrepresented in three-quarters of civil cases.

As a result, an unacceptable number of our most vulnerable citizens — often poor and unaware of their options — find themselves with no protection in matters such as the daily threat of domestic violence and housing eviction that play out in courts every day.

The situation is so dire that, astonishingly, America ranks near the bottom worldwide in access to and affordability of civil justice. In this issue of the Penn Law Journal, faculty and alumni affiliated with our Future of the Profession Initiative, which is driving discussion on reform and innovation, diagnose the problem and they and others recommend potential solutions.

It all comes down to regulatory reform.

Despite having one of the highest per capita lawyer-to-population ratios in the world, there is no incentive structure — and not enough help — to meet the needs of all the people who can’t afford legal services.

The answer is to expand the field, permitting more allied professionals into the fold. The legal profession is well behind other industries in loosening restrictions. In medicine, for example, a wide range of practitioners can see patients. Catching up requires changes to regulations, when appropriate, and a more holistic approach in which lawyers work in tandem, for example, with social workers, financial consultants, and healthcare professionals.

The other solution is to harness the power of technology to reduce complexity and increase access to the legal system. We need more innovation. We need to put clients first. We need to give them better tools to navigate the system by themselves.

The good news is, there is hope for progress. Bridget Lavender L’21, SPP’21 has been clerking for Utah Supreme Court Justice Deno Himonas, who led the charge for change before recently stepping down from the bench. Bridget believes her generation will disrupt the status quo and push for a legal system that lives up to its ideals.

Even better news, we are in a position to recruit and produce more motivated students and graduates like Bridget in the future. This is due to the incredible success of our campaign (see page 36), which increased financial aid to such an extent that we have the ability to enroll the most promising students regardless of their ability to pay.

The campaign also resulted in the creation of numerous new scholarships, in more experiential learning opportunities, in the expansion of our hallmark cross-disciplinary curriculum and public interest program, and in major hires to our faculty, with an infusion of talent whose prodigious scholarship and teaching ability will benefit the Law School for years to come.

We can never thank alumni and friends enough for your support. I am grateful to all of you beyond words.

Sincerely,