Arkansas Access to Justice Commission Pushes to Unbundle Legal Services

The Arkansas Access to Justice Commission hopes changing the rules on attorneys taking a small part of a client’s case, instead of the whole thing, will give Arkansans wider access to legal counsel.

News Story (Arkansas)

Mark Friedman
Arkansas Business
October 23, 2017
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Organizations mentioned/involved: Arkansas Access to Justice Commission (AATJ)


DETAILS

Limited scope representation is permitted and has been allowed, Johnson said. “It was just one line of a rule that said an attorney may limit the scope of his or her representation of a client if the client gives informed consent and if it’s reasonable under the circumstance,” Johnson said. “And that was it.”

The amendment would clarify issues such as providing drafting help to a person who is representing himself in court.

“Arkansas is the most underserved state in the country when it comes to access to attorneys,” Johnson said. Arkansas has a population of about 3 million, but there are only about 3,000 practicing attorneys who are able to take a case for a fee, she said.