A2J is the initiative developed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to seek out and support ways to bring legal services to those who cannot afford traditional legal services. This blog catalogues those efforts and describes our attempts to bring services to the unmet market that might be able to afford something, but can't reach the thousands of dollars it takes to get personal attention.
Hill Law is in the process of building a virtual system where clients can log in and receive guidance on a number of issues without the direct attention and time of an attorney. Until it is launched, we'd like to share with you how important these efforts are through stories we encounter.
Today, for example, the New York Times posted a compelling piece on the problem of the unemployed. The core message this piece imparts is that unemployment is lasting longer than expected for many people, who are now at the end of their benefits package. Unless Congress extends the benefit package, these people who have been hit hard by layoffs are now facing an even more dire situation than before. For these people, the prospect of hiring an attorney is dim...and as we know, Legal Aid is already overstretched in the Nashville area. Our friends at legal aid estimate that one in seven people who qualify for free legal assistance receive it.
This is the driving force behind our efforts to generate a virtual system. Carpe diem ah?
Here's the NYT piece: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/business/economy/21unemployed.html?emc=eta1
