The access to civil justice crisis looms large. An estimated 30 million people each year are reported to lack legal representation in the state courts. Without legal assistance, these individuals are at risk of suffering dire consequences for their families, their homes and their livelihoods.

One important approach to help solve the crisis is the use of “nonlawyer navigators” who come from communities outside the state courts to assist self-represented litigants (SRLs) with their civil legal problems. In 2019, a survey of the national landscape identified and analyzed 23 programs in 15 states and the District of Columbia and described program features and practical considerations for creating and implementing such programs.

Mary E. McClymont, Senior Fellow at the Justice Lab, has now issued a companion piece to her 2019 report with a national update about new programs that have emerged, current programs that have continued and expanded, and lessons learned based on four years of creative activity by program leaders even in the face of a major pandemic.

Nonlawyer Navigators in State Courts: Part II — An Update (2023)

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Nonlawyer Navigators in State Courts: An Emerging Consensus (2019)

By Mary E. McClymont, Senior Fellow with the Georgetown Justice Lab

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