[Tn-talk] Access to Justice Commission

[Sheri Anderson]

Tennessee Supreme Court Develops Training Video on Providing Legal
Services to Persons with Disabilities
July 24, 2012
The Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission recently
developed an important training video that will help attorneys and
legal agencies that work with people with disabilities. The video,
Providing Legal Services to Persons with Disabilities, was created to
raise awareness and reduce the barriers persons with disabilities face
when seeking legal services.

“Projects such as this are a priority because they assist in providing
persons with disabilities better access to the justice system,”
Justice Janice M. Holder said. “This video will serve as a valuable
resource for lawyers. The Court and the Commission commend Disability
Law & Advocacy Center of Tennessee (DLAC) and the Vanderbilt Kennedy
Center (VKC) for developing this tool.”

ATJ Commission committee members and staff from DLAC and VKC provided
leadership in developing the video, available at
http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/legalservicesvideo. The 12-minute video
provides general etiquette tips on interacting with individuals with
disabilities and highlights specific examples of common scenarios that
people with disabilities encounter when seeking legal services.

“Attorneys will better understand how to provide services to people
with disabilities after watching the video,” said Martha M. Lafferty,
Managing Attorney at DLAC. “That increased understanding will, in
turn, lead attorneys to work with their own clients, opposing counsel,
and courts to ensure that disabilities are appropriately accommodated
during the entire justice process.”

 Another goal of the project is to encourage more lawyers to do more
pro bono work with clients with disabilities.

“The Court and Commission want lawyers to feel equipped to handle pro
bono (free) or reduced fee cases for clients with disabilities,” said
George T. “Buck” Lewis, Chair of the Access to Justice Commission. “We
hope that lawyers who watch the video will learn how to address
barriers unique to clients with disabilities and provide those clients
with meaningful access to the court system.”

The Tennessee Developmental Disabilities Network – which includes the
VKC, DLAC, the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities and the
UT Boling Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities – offers
a number of resources and training opportunities for attorneys across
the state who want to learn more about serving clients with
disabilities.

“We see this video as a beginning in the partnership with the
Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission,” Elise McMillan,
Co-Director of the VKC for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities
said.

The Tennessee Supreme Court announced its Access to Justice campaign
in Dec. 2008. This was in response to a growing legal needs gap in
Tennessee as indigent and working-poor families faced more legal
problems caused by unemployment, predatory loans, uninsured medical
bills, domestic violence, evictions and foreclosures. As part of the
campaign, the Court created the Tennessee Access to Justice
Commission, which is made up of ten members from across the state.

To view the video, visit http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/legalservicesvideo.

For more information on the Access to Justice campaign, visit
http://www.tncourts.gov/programs/access-justice.