QUI BONo? UNEMPLOYED ATTORNEYS, UNREPRESENTED PLAINTIFFS, AND THE BAN ON BARRATRY IN TEXAS
I. INTRODUCTION
II. SYNOPSIS
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III. PURPOSES OF BARRING SOLICITATION ........................ A. ProtectingAgainst Undue Influence and Vulnerability ......................... B. EliminatingFrivolous Lawsuits ..................... IV.
VII. VIII. IX.
420 421 421
Indigence................................................................................. Ignorance................................................................................ Too Many Attorneys?..............................................................
424 425 427
INEFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS ...............................................................
428
A. B. C. VI.
418
THE COUNTERVAILING INTEREST: A PRESSING NEED FOR REPRESENTATION, A PRESSING NEED FOR EMPLOYMENT ............ 422
A. B. C. V.
417
Direct Solicitation in ProBono Cases.................................... 429 Texas Access to Justice andLegal Aid Services ..................... 429 Approved Solicitationfor Non-Lawyers ................................. 431
THE DUAL STANDARD AND WORKAROUND FOR D EFENSE FIRM S....................................................................... THE BLACK MARKET OF CASE RUNNING ...................................... INEFFECTIVENESS OF TRADITIONAL MEANS OF ACQUIRING CLIENTS ................................................................. A CASE STUDY OF ALLEGED BARRATRY.......................................
A. B.
432 434 439 440
440 The Alleged Statutory Violations ............................................ The Fine Line Between Legal and Illegal Solicitation............ 441
X . PROPOSED SOLUTIONS. .................................................................. X I. CON CLU SION ..................................................................................
441 444
I. INTRODUCTION
Our country's legal system faces two strange problems that are seemingly contradictory. On the one hand, millions of Americans cannot find or afford an attorney when they need one.' On the other hand, a staggering amount of licensed attorneys are either not working in the legal 1.
See Carrie Johnson, Rights Advocates See 'Access to Justice' Gap in US., NPR.ORG
AM), http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo12:05 10, 2014, (Mar. at archived way/2014/03/10/288225649/rights-advocates-see-access-to-justice-gap-in-u-s, https://perma.cc/VF88-Z2XE.
417