Eamonn Keenan

founder @saef_legal, helping Chicagoans find free & affordable legal help || interested in tech & policy solutions for access to justice (he/him)

[Rohan Pavuluri @RPavuluri]

Our team at @upsolvebk is hiring a full-time Justice Fellow, starting in Sep. It's a good fit for a recent grad thinking about law school or anyone who wants to explore a career in social entrepreneurship and advocacy. It's also a chance to make history!

https://t.co/nZx3GGQ92O

[Shermann Dilla Thomas @6figga_dilla]

😞

[Jason Solomon @jasonsolomon_]

Tomorrow morning at 10 am PT, the CA Senate Judiciary committee will consider a bill whose fate will determine whether more affordable legal help will be made available to millions of Californians. /1

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

thinking back to when I worked intake at a legal advice desk – unable to help someone fill out a court form because they’re illiterate; unable to suggest they go to the 9th floor until they spend 10m signing an intake form & 1 hour waiting for an attorney – this gives me hope :)

[Rohan Pavuluri @RPavuluri]

Last night, Judge Crotty published a landmark 33-pg opinion, ruling in favor of Upsolve in SDNY. This is a historic step towards achieving equal rights under the law. I'm grateful to people who have fought for decades to make this possible. Full opinion: https://t.co/SuTW6QH957

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

I always have complex feelings reading “A2J is not only about the poor, middle class legal meeds are unmet too!”

Not that middle class needs are invalid- we just have no meaningful access to justice for the US poor. More solutions for the most inaccessible = more access for all

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

@franimal10 cosmically well deserved — congratulations !!!

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

@satanloon You are a legend .

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

been waiting a long time to be able to say this – we're launching :)

[SAEF Legal Aid @saef_legal]

[1/9] On Friday 4/18, anyone in Chicago can use SAEF to find free and affordable legal help for family law issues. We’re on a mission to democratize access to civil legal solutions.

More info ⬇️ + visit our website! → https://t.co/Ml3HfeupHr

[Dr. Sara Sternberg Greene @SaraJSGreene]

Excited to share my forthcoming Essay with @KristenRenberg in @ColumLRev. We show the assumption that judges are lawyers is often untrue for poor litigants. 33 states allow lay judges. In NC, over 80% of Magistrates (who hear eviction & some criminal matters) are lay judges. A 🧵

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

@JEGrant3 Interesting re family law- worth noting that fathering a child out of wedlock was still criminalized by many states in the 70s (until ‘84 in IL) & so public defenders were handling paternity cases. Plus, IV-D services didn’t take off until 90s (CPs on public aid no longer pro se)

[WIRED @WIRED]

The price of obtaining mental health help in a crisis is becoming grist for a machine learning mill. And it’s not just users of CTL who pay; it’s everyone who goes looking for help when they need it most. https://t.co/voTFKcJL02

[UDC Law @UDCLaw]

The UDC David A. Clarke School of Law mourns the passing of Edgar S. Cahn, co-founder with his late wife Jean Camper Cahn of the Antioch School of Law, UDC Law’s predecessor. Antioch pioneered clinical training in legal services, a vital part of UDC Law’s mission to this day.

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

@MarkovichMaya For non-lawyers/technologists — I highly recommend reading Earl Johnson’s “Justice and Reform”

A really interesting & important history, which details how we may never have achieved federal funding for legal aid in the US were it not for non-lawyer led activism !

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

@natalalleycat I wish rereg discourse better recognized the roles nonlawyers already play in service delivery

undergrads, even high schoolers are hired as navigators t/o the US for all kinds of triage - smtimes resolving consumer problems w/o attorneys

In legal aid, added licensure is regress

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

@betterlawMLA ..at least in the contexts evaluated https://t.co/dvM8bnz1M4

My point is that it’s a mistake to rely on systems that systematically lead to inequitable outcomes for consumers
Imo the most effective taxonomy is simple: lawyers & nonlawyers collaborating with tech to increase a2j

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

@betterlawMLA Not sure if there’s enough data, but there’s certainly evidence that:
A. lawyers are one of the most distrusted professionals in the US
B. whether you look at data from LLLT in Wash St or early outcomes from Utah sandbox, non-lawyers/tech aren't posing a greater risk to consumers

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

being a justicetech founder is one of the greatest privileges I’ve known — a program catered specifically to the early stage of that journey is an invaluable opportunity

thanks so much to the sponsors and the entire @DukeLawTech team for their support & encouragement :)

[Duke Center on Law & Tech @DukeLawTech]

We're thrilled to award @eamonnk_a2j of @saef_legal our grand prize of $7,500.

[Chicago Booth @ChicagoBooth]

Learn about the Rustandy Center’s five new Tarrson Fellows! The fellowship provides funding and mentoring to rising social entrepreneurs. @RustandyCenter https://t.co/MpMp0GXDeu

[Eamonn Keenan @eamonnk_a2j]

for me, the scariest part about the TIKD decision is the precedent that only lawyers are immune to putting profitability ahead of clients’ interest

besides being historically false — the civil justice system simply can’t afford to wait for a new taxonomy of paraprofessionals

[ABA Journal @ABAJournal]

An app that connected traffic-ticket defendants with lawyers was engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a 4-3 decision. https://t.co/annj4EQMIi #ethics

[Kira Lerner @kira_lerner]

The @nytimes asked Floridians with felony convictions to sit for photographs with name tags listing the amount of fines and fees they must pay before their right to vote is restored https://t.co/wOvuC63ALM