SRLN 2024

This session will explore the objectives, key strategies, and initial outcomes of two unique partnerships between academic institutions and the Utah courts. Both grounded their work in the litigant experience -- one from a user-centered perspective and one using a procedural justice framework. Panelists will share specific insights about forming and supporting academic partnerships like these, aligning goals and workflows, and maximizing the utility of project insights.

Materials:
- "Litigant empowerment through choice?"
- "Court Voices Project: Using Court User Feedback to Guide Courts' Pandemic Responses"
- Short animated video: "A Case for Getting Feedback"

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The Utah Bar Foundation embarked on a data research project, supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts, to examine eviction and debt collection case filings in the Utah State Courts. We compared case outcomes for defendants referred to a dedicated eviction/debt collection calendar and given pro bono assistance versus those that didn't. The goal - make recommendations that improve case outcomes for all parties (courts, defendants, plaintiffs, lenders). Come hear about the lessons learned and the recommendations made to the Utah State Courts and the Utah State Legislature as some unsettling trends were discovered through this data research.

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Legal providers are notoriously gun-shy when it comes to data sharing, often leading to unnecessary silos, inefficiency, and a lack of holistic response for people in crisis. However, other fields have built safe, effective models for data sharing in highly sensitive areas the legal field can learn from. This panel will feature representatives from a homelessness service provider and a data systems technologist discussing their experience with HMIS (Homeless Management Information Services) and other data-sharing systems, and how it has strengthened coalition and client outcomes. This panel will discuss data privacy, data sharing agreements, technology infrastructure and systems to allow for safe and effective data sharing, and a discussion of the impact of data sharing across sectors.

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This program not only discusses the results of the 2023 Survey of Law Library Services to the SRL but details how a Story Map was created to better illustrate and promote the role of law libraries in Access to Justice through service to the SRL. Suzanne Wade, a Geo-Spatial Analyst with SRLN, will demonstrate and explain the mapping process and Story Map creation. The resulting Story Map, “Law Libraries: Open to the Public,” will demonstrate how law libraries support Access to Justice and the work of the courts and legal service providers. Discussion will include how mapping could be implemented for use in other organizations.

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The panel will report on findings from a mixed-methods empirical study evaluating the impact of state-level reforms requiring additional documentation in debt collection cases. We will discuss findings from a three-state evaluation and a multistate quantitative analysis. We will propose solutions, including practical applications for better implementation of legislative and rules-based reforms in the courthouse to improve outcomes for self-represented consumer defendants.

More on our research including the studies we'll be talking about can be found here: https://www.debtcollectionlab.org/research.

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