In the wake of numerous executive orders, many panelists at the South Carolina Law Review symposium commented on the timeliness of this year’s theme, “Making Justice Real: Exploring the Intersection of Access to Justice, Rule of Law, and Democracy.”

Throughout the two-day event, panelists encouraged attendees to think critically about legal institutions and consider opportunities for reform.

Between the lines

While many experts pointed to the value of data in helping to understand individuals’ legal issues and prioritize responses, they also acknowledged that it is not infallible.

Aggregate data in particular, is often used to tell a story without providing a complete picture, according to Ambassador Sarah Mendelson, Distinguished Service Professor at Carnegie Mellon and director of the Center for Sustainable Futures.

Furthermore, they argued for the need for more data on people-centered justice experiences, which aim to understand individuals' justice needs and the obstacles they face in accessing it.

Pros and cons

While there is optimism that technology has the potential to help reduce the access-to-justice gap, panelists acknowledged that it has its own biases and choices, which can further contribute to injustice when used unwisely.

“(According to a 2021 study) the accelerated adoption of technology disproportionately benefited people and businesses with legal representation, and in some instances, made the civil legal system more difficult to navigate for those without,” said Tanina Rostain, chaired professor at Georgetown Law, founder of the Justice Lab, and co-leader of Georgetown Civil Justice Data Commons.

What they’re saying

In her keynote, Elizabeth Andersen, Executive Director of the Basel Institute on Governance, spoke on “Rule of Law Resilience in Populist Times.”

“The problem is the growing entrenchment of authoritarianism and its popularity among citizens disenchanted with democracy. The two causes that I posit to this phenomenon are disinformation on the one hand and economic dislocation inequality on the other. And my three solutions are: civics education, transparency and accountability for our rule of law institutions, especially courts, and increased access to justice delivered by people-centered justice institutions.”

Meet the experts

In addition to law professors and directors Lisa Martin and Elizabeth Chambliss, who served as panelist and moderator, respectively, experts from across the country joined in person and virtually from agencies like the American Bar Foundation (ABF) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

• David Beasley, former executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme, 2020 Nobel Peace Prize winner and former governor of South Carolina
• Matthew Burnett, senior program officer for the Access to Justice Research Initiative at the ABF, visiting scholar for the Justice Futures at Arizona State University
• Maaike de Langen, senior policy advisor at OECD
• Rebecca Sandefur, director and professor at Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University, faculty fellow for the Access to Justice Research Initiative at the ABF
• Lauren Sudeall, chaired professor, director of Vanderbilt Access to Justice Initiative at Vanderbilt Law School

In his closing remarks, South Carolina Supreme Court Justice John Few challenged the students and other attendees to consider the service aspect of advocacy.

“This is a moment to reflect on what you want your legal career to look like. Are you going to accept the norms that have been given to you by those who perceive you in the conventional system, or are you going to step up and do something to make it better? I hope and believe it will be the latter.”