Featured Speaker: Rebooting Justice

University of Tennessee Law Professor Benjamin H. Barton expanded on the ideas in his (and co-author Stephanos Bibas) 2017 book Rebooting Justice. They argue that our laws are too complex and legal advice too expensive. Both are obstacles for the poor and even middle-class Americans to get help and protect their rights. Criminal defendants facing jail time may receive an appointed lawyer who is juggling hundreds of cases and immediately urges them to plead guilty. Civil litigants are even worse off; usually, they get no help at all navigating the maze of technical procedures and rules. The answer is to use technology and procedural innovation to simplify and change the process itself. According to the Wall Street Journal, Rebooting Justice “jump-start[s] a much-needed conversation about the future of the practice of law.”

Ben Barton
Professor
University of Tennesse Law


Watch all the session replays from eCourts 2018 right here.