Technology & Social Entrepreneurship: How one firm uses 501(c)(3) status to serve the underserved middle class.
By Mike Finstad
In 2014, the American Bar Association (ABA) formed a Commission to study the future of legal services in the United States, and a report released in 2016 (the “2016 Report”) cited the legal profession’s resistance to change as an impediment to providing greater access to basic civil legal services for millions of low- and middle-income Americans.1 These individuals and families are increasingly finding themselves priced out of the market for legal services, unable to afford the hourly rates charged by private law firms and attorneys. Even those who can afford a lawyer choose not to, either because they do not recognize their need for legal expertise or because they opt for less expensive alternatives.2 This has led to a growing number of cases where one or both parties go unrepresented in matters that involve eviction, foreclosure, restraining orders, marital dissolution, child custody disputes, child support, debt collection and bankruptcy.