Mind the Gap – the Justice Gap.

Signs that say “Mind the Gap” are posted in London tube stations to remind people getting on and off the subway to be careful to watch their step, that there is a gap between the train car and the platform. Stepping into the gap or falling into the gap could result in bodily harm, loss of life or limb.

The “Justice Gap” refers to the fact that many consumers face extreme difficulty being able to afford an attorney. While legal aid societies exist for the very poor; and indigent criminals are entitled to a public defender, there is little to no affordable legal help for low income or moderate income people.

The justice gap is just as treacherous, terrible, and tangible as the gap at the subway platform. Without any legal assistance, consumers can lose their homes, their children, and their money. For many people, being able to afford an attorney is as likely as being appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The courts are well aware of the difficulty that many consumers have in affording legal assistance. The term, justice gap, is bandied about regularly, with lots of self-congratulatory back slapping at each and every minor effort made. More technology is touted as one of the answers. More technology in a world where, arguably, technology has already outpaced the comprehension of struggling consumers.

There is a Florida Supreme Court committee on Access to Justice, cutely named – A2J. Chief Justice Jorge Labarga, Florida Supreme Court stated:

“Florida needs a coordinated effort involving all of the entities with the potential to make permanent, systemic advances to ensure that access to justice in Florida is not limited to those who can afford it. I am particularly concerned about the circumstances facing low-income litigants for whom purchasing legal representation can pose an impossible challenge, but access to civil justice is also a problem for the middle class, many of whom do not qualify for legal aid and cannot afford to hire a lawyer.”

The Chief Justice is preaching to the choir. Legal document preparers and pro se litigants know in their hearts and bones, that what he says is true. An understatement.

The Florida Supreme Court offers an app which can be downloaded free from Google Play. The app's description claims:

Florida Courts Help seeks to help Floridians who represent themselves in family law cases.

The Florida Courts Help app works on Apple and Android phones and tablets. The app offers in one place information for people seeking a divorce, adoption, orders of protection, name change, and other family law issues.

The app puts help at the fingertips for any mobile device user, with:

• 186 Supreme Court-approved family law forms that can be filled out on the device.
• Links and contact information for help centers all around the state.
• Plain-language instructions and descriptions of first steps and next actions.
• Pointers and contact for a full range of legal help from multiple online resources, free and low-cost legal services, lawyer referrals and other information, including eligibility criteria.
• User-friendly instructions for initial steps and pointers about what happens next.

The app doesn't really work, by the way. The information is there, but you can't fill out the forms on your device as is claimed. Not on my device anyway. All the information accessed through the app is also already online on the Supreme Court's site, www.flcourts.org .

I dare to state the obvious, the emperor has no clothes … if attorneys would charge less, then more people could use them. For example, I filed a law suit a few months ago against a roofing company who never got my roof done. I paid them a $2000 deposit, relying on their promise to start the work in four weeks. They didn't ever start. Five months after paying the deposit, after asking nicely for the return of my deposit, I sued for its return. I was almost there, as a pro se litigant, when the roofers lawyered up at the last minute, just two days before the hearing on my motion for summary judgment. Their attorney filed a motion to dismiss, and was out to bury me, the pro se litigant, citing all sorts of problems with my pleadings, legal argument, etc. Due to my good luck, and maybe my good Karma, a friend of a friend who is an attorney helped me settle the case for free before I was buried. I got my full deposit back, and the satisfaction of knowing that the roofers had to pay their attorney something.

The economics of retaining counsel to sue for $2000 just doesn't work. I was already out $2000, and paying a second $2000 or so to retain counsel just doesn't seem reasonable. Even if I won, and even if I was awarded a judgment, and even if the roofers were ordered to reimburse attorney's fees, no telling how much time and effort would be required to recover on that judgment.

I am a legal document preparer. I make my living preparing legal documents for pro se litigants. I have a BA in Legal Studies, although I am not allowed to advertise that particular fact. Advertising the fact that I have such a degree is considered, (by the Florida Bar), to be engaging in the unauthorized practice of law (UPL). I have more experience preparing legal documents than the average consumer. Also according to the Florida Bar, my stating that I have experience preparing legal documents is engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. This blog article is not an advertisement, I hope that in writing this I have better First Amendment protections than I do in advertising my services.

Despite my degree and my experience, I did not want to go head to head with an attorney who was out to bury me. But, at least I did know how to prepare and file the complaint, have the parties served, have one of the party defendants dropped, and another party defendant defaulted. I'm glad my case settled. I'm glad that an attorney helped me out. Things could have gone my way had we continued on and the summary judgment hearing had taken place. Or, my law suit could have been dismissed, burying me as the attorney wanted. But, in the end, all I really wanted was my money back. And I got that, my story has a happy ending.

Many other consumers do not have happy endings in court. Many consumers free fall into the justice gap and never recover. Document preparers can bridge the justice gap. We are the innovators of the legal system. We do not need to rely on technology alone, we bring with us the business agility to provide affordable alternative legal services to consumers. We can't do everything that an attorney can do – no legal advice/ no representation. But, other than those two things, we can provide consumers with services which they would otherwise go without.

MIND THE GAP.