In many communities legal problems are complex and the stakes are high. People need competent help. Yet the rules that govern who can help them with their cases are restrictive and expensive. The result is that many can’t get the help they need and are left to tackle their own legal problems – often with life-altering consequences. For immigrants, these issues are particularly troubling. Whether they are facing the maze of agencies involved in immigration law, the threat of deportation, or the exploitation of their assets by unqualified providers called “notarios,” they need to be able to access legal services that can protect them and their families.
We need to take a broad view of what legal reform means. The movement needs to support a broad range of goals including the promotion of democracy, human rights, and equity as well as supporting market-oriented development and economic growth. We need to look at how those different agendas intersect in practice.
One obvious example is the use of legal reform to combat corruption in courts or in private legal proceedings. It also includes efforts to reform legal procedures, such as reducing litigation costs and the time it takes to resolve disputes, and fighting back against bogus class action lawsuits.