Talk Justice An LSC Podcast

A judge, legal aid director and legal aid client come together to discuss the potential impact of the White House’s proposal to eliminate the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) on the latest episode of Talk Justice. On May 30, the Trump Administration announced its proposed federal budget for 2026, calling for the elimination of LSC. In light of this, Flagg guides the guests through a conversation a...

In April, LSC published a research brief, “The Economic Case for Civil Legal Aid,” which shows the results of a systematic review of 56 economic impact studies conducted between 2003 and 2023. The independent evaluations examined 39 different states. Every study found a positive return on investment (ROI) for civil legal aid spending, with an average return of $7 for every $1 invested in these leg...

Guests from a Kansas pro bono partnership discuss how private businesses and in-house attorneys can support legal aid initiatives in their communities on Talk Justice. In 2017, Koch was interested in making pro bono work an official part of the company, but learned that Kansas rules did not allow in-house attorneys who are licensed by outside states to provide local pro bono services. Koch worked...

Experts discuss improving housing stability through collaboration between landlords, legal aid and other partners on Talk Justice. This panel discussion was recorded at LSC’s April 9 Access to Justice forum. LSC recently released a research brief on this topic, “Beyond Eviction: Landlords as Essential Partners in Housing Stability.”

Legal and tech experts come together on Talk Justice to discuss what generative AI is, how the growth of algorithmic decision-making can harm low-income people, and the need for people and institutions implementing AI to develop robust methodologies.

Guests from a Wisconsin program creating web platforms that help users solve legal problems discuss their Legal Tune Up tools on Talk Justice. LIFT, or Legal Interventions for Transforming Wisconsin, was formed by lawyers and nonprofit leaders who wanted to create resources to address the access to justice crisis in their state. Leveraging the state’s public databases like Wisconsin Circuit Court...

Legal tech innovators discuss how they are working to scale and improve their successful projects on Talk Justice. FosterPower and Legal Aid Content Intelligence (LACI) leverage technology to make high-quality legal information available to people for free online. Both also received Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) from the Legal Services Corporation to launch their projects. Then, in 2024 they...

The 27th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, the Honorable Nathan L. Hecht retired from the bench at the end of 2024 as the longest-serving member in the history of the Texas Supreme Court. In this conversation, Hecht reflects on how his time on the bench shaped his perspective on access to justice. He describes the current challenges that civil courts face and shares what recent innovati...

In celebration of its landmark 100th episode, Talk Justice hosts join in a special conversation about the most memorable guests, moments and lessons from the show. In addition to show highlights, they also consider the larger discourse around the civil justice system. Talk Justice originally launched in August of 2020. The podcast has brought together legal experts, technologists, business leaders...

Recorded live from the 25th annual Innovations in Technology Conference (ITC), legal tech experts discuss their artificial intelligence (AI) projects and AI’s future potential for expanding legal services on Talk Justice. The live podcast recording at ITC took place in Phoenix, Arizona on January 14. At the conference, more than 700 professionals from legal, tech and other backgrounds gathered to...

Legal aid and tech experts discuss self-help kiosks on the latest episode of Talk Justice. The under-resourcing of legal aid makes it impossible to provide meaningful legal help to every person who needs it. Many providers build and share educational materials and self-help resources online to help fill the gaps, but those without access to a personal computer or smartphone may not be able to acce...

Legal experts share the impactful tech projects they have contributed to, and the struggles and successes of getting volunteer lawyers to engage with tech tools on Talk Justice. Oswald’s project at Legal Aid Society uses automation and AI to handle record expungements more efficiently. Seely has seen great success from a project that allows people with medical debt from Chattanooga’s Erlanger Hosp...

Legal scholars discuss the American Academy of Arts & Sciences’ new report, “Achieving Civil Justice: A Framework for Collaboration,” on Talk Justice. Since 2014, the Academy’s Making Justice Accessible project. has highlighted the scale of the civil justice gap by recognizing its social, economic and human costs, and calling for improved data collection. The project is also looking ahead to set s...

Veterans and legal experts discuss wrap-around services to address the needs of veterans with substance use disorder on Talk Justice. Many veterans live with mental or behavioral health challenges, including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder. Approximately 1 in 10 veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffers from some form of substance abuse....

Legal aid staff in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina discuss their wide-ranging hurricane response efforts on Talk Justice. In the wake of devastating hurricanes in the southeast, legal aid organizations are mobilizing to provide emergency assistance and recovery services. The legal aid providers stress the importance of legal services becoming engrained in the disaster response ecosystem so tha...

Experts discuss the professionalization of pro bono legal services on Talk Justice. Pro bono work is often thought of as a side project that lawyers perform, but legal aid organizations that can rely on full-time staff have increased opportunities to expand services and provide more intensive client service through pro bono. A growing number of people and firms are making pro bono their full-time...

Legal aid directors from Minnesota and Arkansas discuss their multi-faceted efforts to attract and retain high-quality attorneys and other staff on Talk Justice. It’s no secret that legal aid does not lead to the highest potential salaries in the profession. While legal aid has much to offer in terms of opportunities for high-impact, rewarding work, program directors must be creative to attract an...

Legal experts discuss their research into civil legal services and initiatives for addressing the access to justice crisis. Stanford’s Rhode Center is partnering with the Legal Design Lab and the Superior Court of Los Angeles County to collaboratively research, design and implement innovative, evidence-based approaches to improve access to justice for court users. Also, a look into the history of...

Dean Andrew Perlman of Suffolk Law School joins host Cat Moon for a discussion of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and legal ethics on Talk Justice. Perlman authored an article in February of this year, “The Legal Ethics of Generative AI,” which describes how lawyers can use generative AI while satisfying their ethical obligations.

An attorney who has provided civil legal services to people experiencing homelessness shares her perspective on Talk Justice. Carolyn Perez is passionate about correcting common misconceptions around homelessness, saying those we see on the street are only “the tip of the iceberg,” and many families who are homeless are invisible. Perez also describes how legal problems like medical debt, domestic...

Experts discuss the findings from a new survey on Americans’ knowledge of civil legal issues on Talk Justice. The recent survey of more than 2,000 Americans was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of LSC. It revealed widespread misconceptions about civil legal rights, and that many people do not reach out for help with their civil legal problems.

Guests from Kansas and Tennessee discuss the growth of medical debt lawsuits, their impact on patients, and efforts to mitigate these suits on Talk Justice. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on this issue in Kansas in an article, “In This Kansas Courtroom, the Hospital Dominates the Docket.” A hospital sued 400 of the 9,000 people living in Pratt County over a period of less than a year. M...

Legal aid leaders from Florida and Illinois reflect on four years of remote court and consider the benefits and limits of virtual appearances, as well as the inconsistent policies surrounding them on Talk Justice.

United States Senator Ben Cardin joins LSC President Ron Flagg to discuss his perspective on access to justice as a legislator and lawyer on Talk Justice. The Maryland Senator shared about his time in the state’s general assembly chairing Maryland Legal Services Corporation, as well as the “Cardin Requirement” at the University of Maryland’s Francis King Carey School of Law and his thoughts on the...

Legal tech researchers discuss their recent field study of generative artificial intelligence (AI) for legal aid on Talk Justice. Colleen Chien and Miriam Kim authored a paper on their research, “Generative AI and Legal Aid: Results from a Field Study and 100 Use Cases to Bridge the Access to Justice Gap,” which was published in April. The co-authors wanted to advance the conversation around gener...