Page 7 - Delaware Lawyer - Summer 2019

EDITOR’S NOTE
Chuck Durante
of a criminal record, which are aggravated in the age of digital information. Even arrest records and juvenile adjudications lin- ger. The remedy of expungement became more widely available this spring, in part due to their advocacy.
Dan Atkins, executive director of Community Legal Aid So- ciety, cites research showing that every $1 investment in civil legal aid returns over $7 in economic benefit to Delaware and its communities — and immeasurable benefits to the families affected — which he illustrates with examples from his agency’s work.
John Pollock of the Public Justice Center argues why we need a right to counsel in essential civil matters, including pro- ceedings involving child welfare, termination of parental rights and civil contempt.
James Teufel and William Pelletiers of Moravian College draw on data to illustrate what happens when legal services are available in cases of domestic violence or eviction. If a client merely is given advice to be used in self-representation, the par- ty’s chances for a favorable outcome improve modestly. When an attorney appears in the courtroom, though, results for the clients improve markedly.
Jim McGiffin, now a Family Court judge after a career of service at Community Legal Aid Society, including eight years as its executive director, provides a back-page salute to Brian Hartman, who recently retired after 40 impactful years with the organization.
This issue also features a prize-winning essay by Randall Teti of Ashby & Geddes that probes the ethical and jurisprudential issues arising when a jurist encounters information on the inter- net about a pending case. Randall’s analysis won the Bruce M. Stargatt Legal Ethics Writing Competition Award.
Chuck Durante
“There is far too much law for those who can afford it and far too little for those who cannot,” wrote Derek Bok, president of Harvard and former dean of its law school, in 1983.
“Access to the courts may be open in principle. In practice, however, most people find their legal rights severely compro- mised by the cost of legal services.”
The second half of Bok’s telling aphorism remains largely unchanged. Electronic filing and specialized tribunals have been developed to improve litigation for those who can afford it, but for the rest of the public, access to justice remains elusive. Talented, dedicated practitioners represent low-income clients, but with heavy caseloads and light resources.
In Delaware, strong leadership and a tradition of generosity in the private bar, reinforced by admonitions from the judiciary, have produced three well-regarded legal service organizations for low-income clients: Community Legal Aid Society, Legal Services Corporation of Delaware, and Delaware Volunteer Le- gal Services. Each receives some government funding and each benefits from the effective support of the Combined Campaign for Justice. Still, these three providers are equipped to handle but a fraction of the services needed by those eligible for civil le- gal assistance. (In other unfinished business, over 140,000 Del- awareans are sufficiently needy to be eligible for their services.)
This issue features the work of six leading advocates for ef- fective legal services to those of lower income, illustrating the importance of this work, its successes and opportunities for im- provement.
Rick Alexander, who chairs the Access to Justice Commis- sion’s Subcommittee on the Efficient Delivery and Adequate Funding of Legal Services to the Poor, and has been a long- time leader of the corporate bar at Morris Nichols, makes bold proposals for the stable funding of legal services to the poor, noting that when the poor receive inadequate legal services, the costs are borne by society at large.
Lisa Minutola of the Office of Defense Services and Karen Lantz of ACLU Delaware examine the many subtle byproducts
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