Cayley Balser (James E. Rogers College of Law), Erin Weaver (University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law), & Stacy Rupprecht Jane (University of Arizona - James E. Rogers College of Law) have posted The Potential of Unauthorized Practice of Law Reform to Advance Domestic Violence Advocacy: Methods and Findings on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Ninety-eight percent of low-income domestic violence survivors experienced at least one additional civil legal problem in the past year, and 87% experienced at least five. 88% of low-income survivors receive inadequate or no legal help. Survivors may receive legal navigation assistance from DV advocates positioned at organizations providing support services to survivors, but DV advocates are trained to give legal information, not legal advice, in order to comply with unauthorized practice of law (UPL) restrictions. To chart the national domestic violence legal service landscape under the current UPL regime, this Toolkit addresses five research questions:
1. Nationally, what gaps in their ability to help survivors do DV advocates experience when they limit their help to legal information, not legal advice?
2. Do DV advocates think UPL reform and the ability to give limited-scope legal advice as part of their services would be helpful to them and the survivors they serve?
3. What civil legal needs do DV advocates most want/need to advise DV survivors regarding?
4. What additional legal training would DV advocates want and need to feel equipped to give limited-scope legal advice?
5. What do subject matter experts consider the best practices for lay and licensed legal advocacy for DV survivors, in areas such as training/certification, supervision/mentorship, and professional responsibility?
This project was divided into two parts. In this Part One mixed methods study, the research team answered the five research questions through data collected across 85 interviews and 191 surveys with DV advocates, DV advocacy organization leaders, and subject matter experts across the US. In Part Two the research team worked from the data and research collected in Part One of this project and applied design-thinking and user-experience UX) methodologies to layer this DV-specific research with a database of the 50 states' UPL restrictions and exceptions and a jurisdiction-agnostic guide to data-driven UPL reform using the DV research as an example study. The Domestic Violence Advocacy Policy Toolkit inventories the 50 states' unauthorized practice of law restrictions and exceptions to those restrictions and explores the impact of UPL restrictions on legal services for domestic violence survivors. At publication, the Toolkit was shared as a tangible deliverable designed for anyone who wants to build the bench of community members who can know and use the law to advance equal justice. Grounded in the issue of domestic violence as a case study, the Toolkit is particularly a resource for advocates, organization leaders, lawyers, and survivors interested in advancing UPL reform in their state. This Toolkit can be used to encourage UPL reform in any jurisdiction.
