Structured Discrete Task Representation to Bridge the Justice Gap: CUNY Law's Launch Pad to Justice in Partnership with Courts and Communities

Abstract

This article considers the state of the justice gap and briefly reviews the national conversation about the use of “unbundled” legal services,” noting the tension between the ideal of full scope legal representation for low-income litigants facing serious legal challenges — like the loss of a home or the loss of parental rights —, and the practical, fiscal, and structural realities impeding full scope representation. It describes several innovative efforts to address the justice gap through law school post-graduate programs that provide continuing support for pro bono representation with a focus on CUNY Law’s programs. Most notably, the article describes the Launch Pad for Justice (“LaunchPad”), a project of CUNY Law’s Community Legal Resource Network (“CLRN”). In partnership with the New York State Unified Court System’s access to justice efforts, CUNY Law’s CLRN created a structure to support the provision of supervised, limited scope representation to low-income, self-represented litigants in housing court and elsewhere.

Keywords: Access to Justice, Unbundled Legal Services, Law School Programs, Justice Gap