On Wednesday the North Carolina senate—under pressure from the state bar—backed off from voting on a bill that would have made it easier for people to get self-help legal materials from companies like LegalZoom.com Inc. The next day, the American Bar Association announced the winners of seven “catalyst grants” to connect new lawyers with lower income clients. State bar leaders in North Carolina claim they want to protect people from bad legal advice. The ABA said its new grants will “help nurture innovative programs” to address unmet legal needs.
In fact, the two unrelated developments both highlight the same issue: the legal profession’s failure to truly address the millions of Americans who need a lawyer but don’t have one.
