The following e-mail was received from Richard Zorza, Access to Justice:
As many of your have heard, in September 2008, the Self-Represented Litigation Network will be launching its leadership package entitled: Court Leadership and Self-Represented Litigation Solutions for Access, Effectiveness, and Efficiency.
Following the model of last years successful judicial conference at Harvard, the launch, to be held at the Court Solutions Conference sponsored by the National Center for State Courts, held in Baltimore on September 8-10 will provide an opportunity for groups of leaders to come together and learn about, and practice the use of leadership tools for innovation for the self-represented.
Attendees will leave the Launch Gathering with a leadership and educational package customizable for training throughout their state or in their courts, and with experience in using that package. The Package will include the customizable tools and resources for self-assessing courts, and for supporting the multi-disciplinary teams that can then implement the specific innovations that will improve access for the self-represented.
Attendees will be expected to prepare “learning by doing” activities, in which they will practice with their peers the use of elements of the package to foster leadership and the implementation of specific solutions. It is the philosophy of the project that attention to the specifics of solutions in the context of an overall vision, will provide the most effective and convincing tools and leadership for innovation.
The Conference is open to the court and access to justice communities. State court Chief Justices and State Court Administrators have already been invited to send teams, but attendance is not limited to these groups.
This gathering provides an ideal opportunity for state and court leaders to hone their vision, focus their strategy, and obtain and become skilled in the use of leadership materials for implementation.
The modules to be presented and launched are:
? Court Self-Diagnosis and Strategies for Getting a Court Moving (Including Funding Issues)
? Establishing and Operating Self Help Centers
? Designing and Modifying Physical Space for Access
? Establishing Justice Corps and Volunteer Programs
? Training and Supporting Clerks for Access
? Developing and Deploying Forms and Instructions
? Deploying Automated Forms for Access
? Setting Up Case Management for the Self-Represented
? Working with Judicial Leadership
? Courtroom Staffing and Services for Access
? The Court Role in Establishing and Supporting Discrete Task Representation
? Supporting and Integrating Law Library Services
? Distance Service Technology
? The Limited English Proficiency Challenge ? Developing Systems to Facilitate and Ensure Compliance with Court Orders
For additional information, a general description and one page flyer have been posted on www.selfhelpsupport.org at http://www.selfhelpsupport.org/library/folder.194209-2008_Court_Leadership_Package_Launch.
For answers to specific questions, contact Richard Zorza, richard@zorza.net, 202-549-1128.
To register, go to www.courtsolutions.org