"For a study that will be published in the Iowa Law Review, I set out to examine the civil justice system – the system that adjudicates private matters, most often disputes between two individuals. Specifically, I wanted to understand the reasons behind a finding from an American Bar Association (ABA) survey that showed that the poor were less likely to use the civil system than people of greater means.

It is well known among scholars that organizations providing free civil legal assistance typically have to turn away half of potential clients because they do not have the necessary funding, and thus the necessary manpower. I was interested in a question that was harder to understand: why, according to the ABA, did three-quarters of poor people who told researchers they had experienced a civil justice problem never even take the first step of seeking free legal help..." 

Read the whole article HERE.