Richard Zorza, Esq.
richard@zorza.net
3097 Ordway St., NW, Washington, DC 20008
202-549-1128
www.zorza.net
POSITIONS:
Access to justice consulting. Current and recent projects include creation and coordination of the Self-Represented Litigation Network (www.selfhelpsupport.org), strategic and business planning for the Pro Bono Net - LawHelp Web-based access to justice project (www.lawhelp.org), assisting with the California and Bench Guides on Self-Represented Litigation, serving as principal consultant to the Washington State Access to Justice Technology Principles Project, evaluating the Georgia Appalachian Circuit Self-Help Cener and Montana Legal Services Association LiveHelp Project, working with the Legal Services Corporation OIG on computerized mapping, and acting as principal consultant to the Harvard Law School Bellow-Sacks Project on the Future of Access to Civil Justice (www.bellowsacks.org).
Fund for the City of New York -- Vice President for Technology (1996 to 1999)
Conceptualization, fundraising, development and implementation of technology strategy for nonprofits and government, including Brooklyn Treatment Court, Internet-Based Domestic Violence Court Preparation Systems, New York City Housing Court Preparation System, Legal Services Technology Conference, Bosnia Human Rights Ombudsman Technical Assistance and Website, and Internet Academy.
Vera Institute of Justice/Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem -- Counsel for Technology (1990-1996)
Responsible for technology and justice vision and strategy. Projects included Midtown Manhattan Community Court Technology, New York City Police Crime Mapping Project, New York State Court Domestic Violence Registry, and New York City Assigned Counsel Automation. From 1990 to 1992, created Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem Automated Litigation Support System for public defender demonstration project, integrated with client centered, multi-forum, neighborhood-based team representation model.
Committee for Public Counsel Services--Appellate Attorney/Special Counsel for Technology (1982-1990)
Handled post-conviction matters at all levels, including appeals, motions for new trial, federal habeas corpus and appeal, and amicus brief in Commonwealth v. Colon-Cruz that struck down the Massachusetts death penalty. Responsible for AIDS related litigation and training. As member of management team responsible for all automation, including Public Defender support and Private Counsel payment, statistics and auditing systems.
POSITIONS (Continued):
Suffolk University Law School – Legal Writing Instructor (1981-1982).
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute – Computer Consultant and Volunteer Attorney (1981-1982; Law Student 1977-80).
Hon. Raya S. Dreben, Massachusetts Appeals Court – Law Clerk (1980-1981).
Harvard Defenders – Student Practice (Summer, 1979).
Harvard Law School Legal Services Center – Law Student (1979-1980) Professor Morton Horowitz – Research Assistant (Summer, 1978).
Vocations
for Social Change/Unemployment Law Project/American Friends Service
Committee – Collective Member (1974-1977).
U.S. Senator Mike Gravel – Staff Aide (1972).
EDUCATION:
J.D., Harvard Law School, 1980
A.B., Social Studies, Harvard University, 1971
BAR MEMBERSHIPS:
New York, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, US District Court of Massachusetts and First Circuit Court of Appeals.
PUBLICATIONS:
Self-Represented Litigation and the Access
to Justice Revolution in the State Courts: Cross Pollinating Perspectives
Towards a Dialog for Innovation in the Courts and the Administrative System, 29,
Journal of the National Association of
the Administrative Law Judiciary, 63 (2009)
Court Leadership and Self-Represented Litigation -- Solutions for Access, Effectiveness, and Efficiency, National Center for State Courts (2008) (Coordinator and General Editor).
New Curriculum Helps Improve Access for the Self-Represented, in Future Trends in State Courts, 2008, National Center for State Courts (2008).
Spreading and Adopting Best Practices in Court-Based Programs for the Self-Represented, in Future in State Courts 2007, National Center for State Courts (2007).
Trends in Self-represented Innovation Litigation, in Court Trends 2006, National Center for State Courts (2006).
The Washington State Access to Justice
Technology Principles: A Perspective for Justice System Professionals, 27 Justice System Journal, 248 (2006)
(with Donald Horowitz).
Civil Legal Assistance for All Americans, Bellow-Sacks Access to Civil Legal Services Project, Harvard Law School (2005) (with Jeanne Charn).
Report on the National Summit on Self-represented Litigation, National Center for State Courts (2005).
The Disconnect Between the Requirements of Judicial Neutrality and Those of the Appearance of Neutrality when Parties Appear Pro Se: Causes, Solutions, Recommendations, and Implications, 17 Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, 423 (2004).
Designing an
Accessible Technology-Driven Justice System: An Exercise in Testing the Access
to Justice Technology Bill of Rights, 79 Washington Law Review, 223 (2004) (with Judge T.W Small and Robert Boiko).
Some Reflections on Long Term Lessons
and Implications of the Access to Justice Technology Bill of Rights Process, 79
Washington Law Review, 389 (2004).
Judicial Techniques for Cases involving
Self-Represented Litigants, 42 Judges
Journal, 16 (Spring 2003) (with Judge Rebecca Albrecht, John
Greacen, and Bonnie Hough).
Making an International Case, 2 Equal Justice Magazine, 54 (Summer 2003).
The Self Help Friendly Court (National Center for State Courts, 2002).
Can Technology Transform Legal Services Into an Integrated Force for the Poor? 35 Clearinghouse Review, 731 (2002) (with Hugh Calkins and Gwen Daniels).
Discrete Task Representation, Ethics and the Big Picture, 40 Family Court Review, 19 (2002).
The Emerging Tech Challenge to the Legal Profession, 85 Judicature 6 (2001).
Re-Conceptualizing the Relationship Between Legal Ethics and Technological Innovation in Legal Practice, 67 Fordham Law Review. 2659 (1999).
The Internet-Based Domestic Violence Court Preparation Project, 4 Domestic Violence Report, 49 (1999) (with Joyce Klemperer).
Beyond Technology: How Hardware and Humans will Merge in the Courtroom of the Future, 12 Criminal Justice, 5 (1997).
Examining the Vision and Goals of the Justice Systems Technology, New York Law Journal. 3/21/95
Bringing Criminal Justice Agencies Online, 8 Criminal Justice, 2 (1993).
The Right to Say We (Praeger, New York and Pall Mall, London, 1970).
SELECTED RECENT
SPEAKING ENGAGMENTS:
What you Need to Know about the
Self-Represented, Presentation
to Superior Court Judiciary of the District of Columbia at Access Conference,
May 2009.
Keynote: Access to Justice in a Different Time, California Court Conference on the Self-Represented, May 2009, San Francisco CA.
Court Perspectives on Legal Services and Access to Justice Financing, Fee Mechanisms and Funding, Law for American Conference, S.J. Quinney College of Law
University of Utah, April 2009, Salt Lake City UT.
Cost Effective Innovation to Increase Access
to Justice for the Self-Represented, Presentation to Michigan Judiciary, December 2008, Lansing MI.
Self-Represented Litigation Innovation: The Big Picture, Equal Justice Conference Pre-Conference, May
2008, Minneapolis MN.
Progress in Self-Represented Litigation
Innovation: Perspectives and
Recommendations, Legal
Services Corporation Technology Initiative Conference, January 2008, Austin TX.
Self-Represented
Litigation: The Challenge of Engagement and Neutrality, Utah Judicial
Gathering, September 2007, Midway Utah.
Self-Represented
Litigation: The Challenge of Engagement and Neutrality, Annual Conference,
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, July 2007, San Francisco,
CA.
Self-Represented Litigation: Leadership Opportunities for Law Libraries in a Changing Landscape, Workshop, Annual Conference of the American Association of Law Librarians, July 2007, New Orleans, LA
Keynote: Rethinking the Courts, California Statewide Conference on Self-Represented Litigation, March 2007, San Francisco, CA.
Self-Represented Litigation: Leadership Opportunities for State Courts in a Changing Landscape, Conference of Chief Justices, February, 2007 New Orleans, LA
The Pro Se Challenge: An Opportunity for Access to Justice, Nebraska Judicial Education Meeting, November, 2006, Omaha, NE.
Keynote: The Pro Se Challenge, an Overview, Ohio Judicial Conference Annual Meeting, September, 2006, Dublin, OH.
Opening Plenary: Access to Justice for the Self-Represented – Courts and Community Based Strategies and Solutions, East Coast Regional Conference on Self-Represented Litigation, May 2006, White Plains, NY.
The Pro Se Challenge: Ethical Challenges and Practical Solutions, Oregon Circuit Judges Association, April, 2006, Sun River, OR.
Perspectives on an Access to Justice Technology Bill of Rights, Queensland University of Technology School of Law Seminar, November, 2005, Queensland, Australia (by video).
Innovation for the Self-represented: Areas of Experience, Knowledge, and Opportunity for IOLTAs and State Justice Communities, National Association of IOLTA Programs/ABA Commission on IOLTA, August, 2005, Chicago, IL.
Limited Scope Representation: How Does it
Serve the Client, Wisconsin
State Bar Convention, May, 2005, Milwaukee, WI.
Innovation in Self-Representation: Experience, and Opportunity, Massachusetts Bench Bar Conference, March, 2005, Boston, MA.
The Status of Innovation for the Self-represented:
Areas of Experience, Knowledge, and Opportunity, Setting the Stage for the
March, 2005 Summit,
Conference of Chief Justices, Annual Meeting, January 2005, New York, NY (with Helaine Barnett [LSC] and Paula Hannaford Agor [NCSC]) and Conference of State Court Administrators,
Annual Meeting, December, 2004, New Orleans, LA (with John Greacen
[consultant]).
Maps Tell a Richer Story, National Leal Aid and Defender Association
Conference Workshop, December, 2004, Washington, DC.
Ethical, Procedural and Evidentiary Issues in
Judicial Management of Pro Se Cases, Training for New York State Family Court Judges, October, 2004 and
November, 2004, New York Judicial Institute, White Plains, NY.
Plenary: Towards Judicial Leadership for Integration, Accuracy, and Responsiveness in Domestic Violence Cases, Technology and Beyond, California Judicial Council Tenth Year Domestic Violence Conference, September, 2004, San Francisco, CA.
Ethics and Unbundling; Legal Services Beyond the Courthouse Door; and Maps Tell the Story, Equal Justice Conference Workshops, April, 2004, Atlanta GA.
Keynote: And Justice for All, the Potential of Community, Connection, Volunteerism and Technology, National Conference on Community Based Access to Justice, February, 2004, San Francisco, CA.
The Relationship Between Judicial Neutrality
and Judicial Engagement: Using
Transparency and Technology to Resolve the Tension and Support Access to
Justice, Symposium on Access
to Justice, Georgetown Law School, February, 2004, Washington, DC.
The Access to Justice Technology Principles, Symposium on Technology, Values and the Justice System, University of Washington School of Law, January, 2004, Seattle, WA
Keynote: Vision and Justice in Information Technology Planning and Implementation, Information Technology Strategic Planning Conference, Ontario Ministry of Justice, October, 2003, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Access to Justice Collaborations in Technology in the USA, Conference of the Australian Institute for Judicial Administration, October 2002, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.