Television

Would You Watch 'Law & Order: Liquidated Damages'?

Having fun naming all the most boring lawyer shows at #nameacivillawTVshow.

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In his keynote address at yesterday’s Future of Law Schools event,[1] hosted by Thomson Reuters, Legal Services Corporation president James Sandman — who did not take the stage to Metallica, which was a tremendous disappointment — delivered a sobering keynote address about the plight of poor civil litigants falling through the cracks, making just enough money to fall outside the reach of most legal services for the poor.[2]

Once litigants choose to go it alone, it doesn’t get much better. He detailed onerous entry barriers ranging from courts requiring pro se filings on $16 watermarked paper to a courthouse sign saying “pro se litigants here” — even though these people use neither “pro,” “se,” or “litigants” in their day-to-day lives.

Unfortunately most Americans don’t recognize how many gravely serious issues are shunted into the civil legal system like housing, custody battles, and restraining orders for victims of domestic abuse. America understands, vaguely, the importance of the right to counsel when facing criminal charges, but rarely grasp the threats that await the unwary in civil court.

One factor contributing to this blindspot, according to Sandman, is popular culture’s fixation on criminal law procedurals. Most Americans know their Miranda rights but don’t have a clue how civil courts work or even what evils may await through those doors for those without a lawyer to guide them.

That’s when Thomson Reuters’s Sameena Kluck sent out this Tweet (replying to my riff on Sandman’s comment):

That immediately kicked off #nameacivillawTVshow and we were off to the races:

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There are many more fun names hanging out under that hashtag — this just scratches the surface. Hopefully readers will contribute more throughout the day. Because as one Tweet put it:

[1] You can check out live coverage of the event on Twitter at #FOLS17 and we’ll have more posts on it next week.
[2] This, by the way, is why innovative low bono models are so important.

HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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