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BACKGROUND: 1.8 million Veterans are estimated to need legal services, such as for housing eviction prevention, discharge upgrades, and state and federal Veterans benefits. While having ones legal needs met is known to improve ones health and its social determinants, many Veterans legal needs remain unmet. Public Law 116-315 enacted in 2021 authorizes VA to fund legal services for Veterans (LSV) by awarding grants to legal service providers including nonprofit organizations and law schools legal assistance programs. This congressionally mandated LSV initiative will award grants to about 75 competitively selected entities providing legal services. This paper describes the protocol for evaluating the initiative. The evaluation will fulfill congressional reporting requirements, and inform continued implementation and sustainment of LSV over time. METHODS: Our protocol calls for a prospective, mixed-methods observational study with a repeated measures design, aligning to the Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation Maintenance (RE-AIM) and Integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARIHS) frameworks. In 2023, competitively selected legal services-providing organizations will be awarded grants to implement LSV. The primary outcome will be the number of Veterans served by LSV in the 12 months after the awarding of the grant. The evaluation has three Aims. Aim 1 will focus on measuring primary and secondary LSV implementation outcomes aligned to RE-AIM. Aim 2 will apply the mixed quantitative-qualitative Matrixed Multiple Case Study method to identify patterns in implementation barriers, enablers, and other i-PARIHS-aligned factors that relate to observed outcomes. Aim 3 involves a mixed-methods economic evaluation to understand the costs and benefits of LSV implementation. DISCUSSION: The LSV initiative is a new program that VA is implementing to help Veterans who need legal assistance. To optimize ongoing and future implementation of this program, it is important to rigorously evaluate LSVs outcomes, barriers and enablers, and costs and benefits. We have outlined the protocol for such an evaluation, which will lead to recommending strategies and resource allocation for VAs LSV implementation.

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the evolution of legal professionals and the implications of their changing work and practices on society. It introduces a conceptual framework that explores professional trajectories and professional spaces, and how these interact with various contexts. The text discusses the impact of new regulations, economic changes, and technological advancements on the legal profession. It also examines the influence of political movements and societal polarization on the legal profession. The special issue includes papers that focus on various empirical cases, such as the use of artificial intelligence in legal work, the professional trajectories of women in the legal labor market, and the career paths of lawyers involved in autocratic movements. The given document is a list of references and sources related to the legal profession and its relationship with technology, globalization, and societal changes. [Extracted from the article]

For decades, developing countries have faced international pressure to adopt the techniques and tactics consistent with the drug war. These have had profound and adverse consequences. While cannabis prohibition and drug control generally are topics that lend themselves to established comparative studies, engaging cannabis as a substantive topic engages numerous aspects of criminal justice systems. In this paper, we link cannabis to concepts related to recent formulations of international criminology. Next, we outline how the history of cannabis prohibition requires adopting a more critical global lens and consider the role of legal technical assistance to support countries renegotiating cannabis control in the twenty-first century. Beyond the formal tools and informal techniques commonly used within legal technical assistance, we argue expanding tolerance can disrupt the tendency for reform to expand social control. While embracing tolerance may serve as an antidote to some penal modalities, this must be combined with policies that regulate the aversion many feel toward cannabis and people who use it. Harm reduction provides a useful frame to combine these concepts and orient critical models of international criminology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Those in family court proceedings are at the sharp end of a spectrum of disputes concerning their children’s upbringing. Emerging evidence shows that, regarding both public and private law, socioeconomic and health deprivation of various forms is associated with higher rates of proceedings. Discovering health and social determinants of proceedings could inform upstream interventions to support parenting, improve wellbeing, reduce conflict and adversity and prevent the need for court involvement in the first place. It could also inform measures to mitigate the adverse health effects of legal processes on vulnerable families and debates on legal aid and alternative dispute resolution in private proceedings. This ‘public health’ approach to family justice is now possible by innovations in linking whole-population, routinely collected datasets between the courts, healthcare and other services. This article explores the possibilities of combining legal and epidemiological understandings, methods and skills in researching family justice to inform practice, policy and legislative reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractDespite mitigating the severe impacts of poverty, synchronized, monthly government income assistance payments can negatively impact people who use drugs, including disrupting service utilization. This study evaluates whether changing payment timing and frequency impacts health and social service access. This secondary analysis of an exploratory, parallel, unblinded, randomized controlled trial assessed data collected between 2015–2019 from income assistance recipients who use drugs in British Columbia, Canada (n = 194). Participants were randomly assigned for six monthly payment cycles to: (a) synchronized government schedules (control); (b) desynchronized “staggered” single monthly payments; or (c) desynchronized “split & staggered” twice-monthly payments. Generalized linear mixed models assessed utilization of, and barriers to, acute/emergency healthcare, community healthcare, psychosocial services and material/legal services. Mixed results showed increases in access to psychosocial services and material/legal services, but also increases in the barriers to community healthcare and material/legal services. Changing payment schedules may alter access to services in complex ways implicating practice, organizational and interagency adaptations for marginalized populations. Results support the importance of social service agency involvement in income assistance policy reform discussions to ensure effective service delivery. Further research should include perspectives from service providers and utilize agency administration data to better understand payment schedules and service provision dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right to remain silent is a fundamental procedural safeguard for people accused of a criminal offense. Practitioners draw conclusions from the fact that a defendant makes use of the right to silence. Conversely, we know little about defendants’ perspective of the right to silence and their understanding of the possible risks involved in invoking this right. It was the aim of the current study to provide insights on defendants’ decision to remain silent and the reactions and consequences they experienced. We conducted four focus group interviews with 29 prisoners who served a prison sentence for a serious crime of at least three years in the Netherlands or Belgium. Overall, prisoners were in favor of remaining silent and recommended remaining silent over the full duration of their investigation and trial, or at least the pre-trial stage. The presence of co-suspects, attitudes towards police, and perception of evidence strength played an important role in the decision to remain silent. Legal assistance informed prisoners’ strategy decisions, especially for first offenders. When interpreting the findings it is important to consider that interviewees were mostly convicted of serious multiple perpetrator crimes. This might have contributed to the strong emphasis on silence as preferred strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State negotiations constitute the foundation for the development of each nation, relying on the acquisition of resources and services. Public procurement not only has economic and social impacts but also demands that public officials ensure compliance with the law. However, some of these officials have violated the legal principles of public procurement, seeking to obtain benefits, goods, or personal services without legal backing. In studies conducted in Ecuador, this phenomenon has been analyzed in relation to the variability of indeterminacies that public officials face in interpreting regulations. Therefore, this paper focuses on analyzing and defining the levels of indeterminacy present in the neutrosophic variable that influences the functioning of state negotiations. The use of neutrosophic statistics is suggested for modeling the study to detect indeterminacies of the variable in each dimension. Among the neutrosophic results, the misuse of government policies in state negotiation processes is identified as the sole criterion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pro Bono legal aid is a free legal aid program that provides legal aid services both in litigation and non-litigation to underprivileged and marginalized communities in the Sumber Cirebon District Court. The researchers hereby aim to discover the implementation practices and the impediments to effective service delivery, offering valuable information for policymakers, legal practitioners, and organizations dedicated to expanding access to justice for underprivileged communities. The research contributes to both the practical and theoretical understanding of pro bono law aid. It provides a comprehensive analysis of current implementation practices, providing valuable information to policymakers and legal practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Green Claims Directive (GCD) and its role in shaping the legal framework for advertising environmental claims. Topics include the integration of the GCD with the UCP Amending Directive 2024/825, the need for clearer substantiation and verification of green claims, and recent amendments made by the European Union Parliament and Council.

The article presents summaries of selected passed bills from the 2024 Utah Legislative General Session, that include Senate Bill (SB) 79 Estate Planning Recodification, SB 202 Regulations for Legal Services, and House Bill Employment Confidentiality Amendments.

The authors analyse the empowerment of domestic violence abusers from the perspective of an intervention programme. They present the phenomenon of domestic violence in the context of complex legal assistance to a family experiencing violence, and theoretical and practical approaches to the application of behaviour-changing programmes. At the moment, the legal acts regulating the provision of such assistance in Lithuania are mainly aimed at ensuring assistance to people who have experienced violence, but the system of providing services to people subjected to violent behaviour is not established. In Lithuania, the Intervention Programme for Domestic Abusers has been approved for changing violent behaviour in the family. The programme is purposefully structured: it improves the skills of recognition of violent behaviour in the family environment by providing information on forms of violence and an analysis of violent situations, and modelling non-violent behaviour in the family. The experts who prepared the programme noted that the most important elements for its effectiveness are group work, long-term participation in the programme, the motivation of the programme leaders, and the ability to empower the individual to change his or her behaviour. The extension of the programme to institutions providing comprehensive family support services can be predictive of the effectiveness of domestic violence prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifty years of evidence documents that men represent a substantial portion of victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, studies show that there are few services available to them, and qualitative studies from Western countries worldwide show that male IPV victims report uniformly negative experiences when seeking help from various legal professionals, including police, judges, lawyers, other court personnel, and victim advocates. The current study is a quantitative investigation of male IPV victims' experiences with legal service systems across several English-speaking countries and over time. Using cross-sectional data from two samples—594 self-identified male IPV victims and 1,380 men from a crowdsourcing platform (Prolific) who reported at least one act of physical and/or sexual IPV victimization from a romantic partner—we found that men from the United States were significantly less likely to seek help from the police or legal support personnel than men from other countries, but they rated these resources' helpfulness significantly higher. Moreover, the helpfulness of these resources increased over time. On average, across countries and time periods, ratings were consistent with unhelpfulness, with the majority of men reporting that they were not provided with appropriate resources or support. Discussion focuses on explanations for these findings, implications for practice, and suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origins of legal aid are deeply rooted in Indian history and can be recited from old scriptures. From the extensive journey of the legal system from the Vedic era to the present, a codified legal framework of legal aid has grown to the myriad importance in India. Access to justice has been identified as a human right at the international level through Articles 8 and 10 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. The General Assembly in 2012 adopted the 'UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice System', which is considered to be the first legal instrument for providing legal aid rights. At the national level, India is much ahead and considers legal aid as a basic right that flows from access to justice. The Constitution of India, through Articles 21 and 14, has identified fundamental rights through the active participation of judiciary. 2 Article 39A specifically states the state's duty towards providing legal aid. 3 On the same line, there are provisions in civil 4 and criminal law 5 for providing free legal aid, so that access to justice can be achieved. In addition, the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, also works towards this goal by providing National Legal services Authorities (NLSA), District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA) and establishing Lok Adalats. The Bar Council of India made it compulsory for all law colleges and universities to establish legal aid cell to spread awareness about basic laws and free legal aid through various programmes. The Ministry of Law and Justice has also come up with the scheme of Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice (DISHA) to achieve this constitutional mandate through the pro bono culture. In this article, Introduction gives a brief introduction to legal aid and its changing importance. In Development of the Concept of Legal Aid, historical development is traced to understand the need for legal aid in the early period. Analysis of Present Precise Legal Safeguard to Legal Aid focuses on the development of legal aid after the introduction of the Legal Aid Act and the efforts taken by the government and other educational institutions or contributing to promote to access to justice in the present era. In Legal Aid at an International Regime, some international efforts have been made to find legal aid in some developed countries. Way Forward provides the way forward for legal aid and discusses available best practices followed in this area with certain suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article researches international standards for the protection of the rights of convicts and prisoners. It was determined that international standards for the protection of the rights of convicts and prisoners are a set of norms and principles established by international organizations, which determine the minimum requirements for the treatment of persons in places of deprivation of liberty, which must be observed in the countries that are parties to the relevant international treaties for ensuring the appropriate level of protection of their rights. It was noted that the standards of the international mechanism for the protection of the rights of convicts and prisoners establish specific criteria and norms that must be observed in different countries to ensure an adequate level of protection of the rights of people who are in places of imprisonment. It is emphasized that, depending on the classification and type of standards, they have a universal, regional, mandatory, advisory, general and specialized character, and are applicable to different categories of convicts and prisoners. It is substantiated that thanks to the implementation of international standards for the protection of the rights of prisoners to the legislation of Ukraine and the practice of penitentiary activities, positive changes have been noted in this area: a number of reforms aimed at humanizing the system of execution of punishments, including reducing the number of convicts and prisoners by introducing alternative types of punishment, have been implemented, such as probation; state bodies monitor compliance with the rights of convicts and prisoners, includingthrough cooperation with international organizations such as the Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the Council of Europe; the living conditions of convicts and prisoners were improved in penitentiary institutions; educational and vocational training programs are implemented, which help convicts and prisoners acquire new skills and prepare for reintegration into society after release; the cooperation of the penitentiary system with nongovernmental organizations is developing through the implementation of joint projects, monitoring, legal assistance and advocacy, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of various types of criminal offenses that may be committed against lawyers in connection with their professional activities in providing legal assistance. By analysing the status of a lawyer as a victim according to Article 397 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the article suggests focusing on two main aspects. Firstly, the issue of interference with the activities of a defender or representative of a person is thoroughly examined, with the concluding remark that one of the key guarantees of a lawyer's activity is the establishment of criminal liability for interfering with the work of these subjects of human rights protection. The object, objective, and subjective sides of this criminal offense are analysed, as well as the sanctions provided for its commission. Secondly, the threat or violence against a defender or representative of a person using Article 398 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as the main instrument to ensure the safety of defenders and representatives during the provision of legal assistance is discussed. The elements of this offense and the sanctions imposed in case of its commission are described. The article also thoroughly examines Article 399 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, "Intentional Destruction or Damage to the Property of a Defender or Representative of a Person." The objective and subjective sides of the criminal offense are analysed, along with qualifying features. Special emphasis is placed on the manifestations of the objective side - destruction or damage to the property of a defender, representative of a person, or their close relatives. Sanctions for such actions include fines, probation, restrictions, or deprivation of liberty depending on the severity of the consequences. Furthermore, Article 400 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, "Attack on the Life of a Defender or Representative of a Person in Connection with Activities Related to the Provision of Legal Assistance," is studied separately. The composition of the crime, which consists of murder or attempted murder of a defender, representative, or their close relatives due to professional activities, is analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advocacy of Ukraine is a nongovernmental, self-governing institution that provides protection, representation and the other types of legal assistance on a professional basis, and independently resolves issues of the organization and activity of the advocacy in the manner established by the law. The advocacy of Ukraine consists of all advocates of Ukraine who have the right to practice law. According to the current legislation of Ukraine, advocatory activities are carried out on the basis of a contract on the provision of legal assistance. In this regard, the study of this type of contract and the clarification of its place in the system of regulators of social relations have become extremely important and are the urgent tasks in the domestic legal science. The contract on the provision of legal assistance is an unnamed type of contract at the level of the codified act. Because of this, the provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On Advocacy and Advocatory Activity» have been devoted to its legal regulation. The contract for the provision of legal assistance may also be concluded in favor of the client by another person acting in his interests. In such cases, the rules of the art. 636 of the Civil Code of Ukraine should be applied to it. In particular, the execution of such an agreement on the provision of legal assistance can be demanded both by the person who concluded the agreement and by the client for whose benefit it was concluded. Termination of the contract for the provision of legal assistance at the initiative of the client and/or the person who concluded the contract in the interests of the client is not recognized as an indicator of unsatisfactory work of the advocate (advocatory bureau or advocatory association). After all, the essence of advocacy should consist in providing professional legal assistance to clients to achieve justice in exclusively legal and morally justifiable ways. On the basis of the civil legal analysis of the contract on the provision of legal assistance, it is advisable to support conclusions about its consensual legal nature, belonging to the group of contracts on the provision of legal services, bilaterality, the possibility of being paid or unpaid, fiduciary and, under certain circumstances, aleatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Necrophilia is a paraphilia in which the offender finds sexual gratification in having sex with the dead. Most nations and jurisdictions have laws against this practice. According to a report from Legal Services India, currently, cases of Necrophilia in India are being referred to under the provisions of Section 297 and Section 377. There hasn't been much research done in that field. History and several case studies indicate that this is exceedingly destructive, not just for the person with the disorder but also for society as a whole. The focus of the current research project is to describe and investigate the problem of sexual encounters with corpses and their social repercussions. The paper explores conceivable motives for having sex with the deceased. Additionally, how such drives can impact the psychological forensic evaluation of criminals who have had sex with corpses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

he United States of America is at a crossroads. The foundational promises of the American dream-life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness-have been thrust into public pessimism as the nation’s most economically vulnerable populations find themselves outsiders in their own communities, unable to access the legal tools and services required to resolve even the most rudimentary of legal disputes. In the wake of groundbreaking studies by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System and the American Bar Association’s Commission on the Future of Legal Services, the need for alternative legal service providers is more prevalent than ever. The recent advent of legal technology tools powered by generative artificial intelligence has the potential to provide low-cost legal services for those who need it the most. This Article explores a litany of actors in the civil legal services marketplace that are harnessing the power of generative artificial intelligence to help bridge the gap for the most vulnerable. In addition, this Article contributes to a new area of legal scholarship advocating for a nationwide “Regulatory Sandbox,” allowing for lawyers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and innovators to boldly envision a world where alternative legal services can empower our nation’s most vulnerable populations to gain broader access to the legal system and, ultimately, solutions to their legal ailments. Policymakers, stakeholders, and readers alike can view this Article not as a legal treatise, but as an informative and easily digestible call to action that seeks to solve the access to justice gap in the United States. “Except for the few that legal services lawyers can represent, poor people have access to American courts in the same sense that the Christians had access to the lions when they were dragged, unarmed, into a Roman arena.” - Justice Earl Johnson, Jr., California Court of Appeals, 2nd Appellate District. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Race-and-class-subjugated communities continue to experience disproportionate police violence despite increased attention to this longstanding problem. This study examines how residents make sense of the legal issues that arise from these encounters and turn to civil law for assistance. I do so by unifying scholarship on police encounters, legal consciousness, and access to justice to consider the obstacles everyday people encounter when they consider filing a civil legal claim in the aftermath of police violence. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with 24 residents and two attorneys specializing in police brutality, I find that all residents, but especially those who sought civil legal justice, experienced what this study calls a legal mirage—which occurs when a knowable legal process exists to pursue one's rights, but a variety of barriers (e.g., structural, human, financial) make that process unreachable. Three obstacles reinforced this mirage: difficulties obtaining competent representation, unresponsiveness when securing evidence, and frustration navigating municipal indemnification. I conclude by outlining the practical implications of this research for advocates looking to increase access to civil legal services and reduce police violence. Without these interventions, civil legal justice may remain elusive and beyond the reach of everyday people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The High Court of England and Wales in the case of R (Detention Action) v Lord Chancellor , ruled that the Lord Chancellor had acted lawfully due to the way he operated the Detention Duty Advice Scheme (hereafter "DDAS"). The DDAS is a publicly funded legal service provided to detainees in immigration detention centres. Under it, all detainees are eligible to receive up to 30 minutes of free advice from legal representatives. This approach to detention has been critiqued by scholars on the grounds that a lack of time is afforded to detainees. Some research has been undertaken on the lack of availability of publicly funded legal advice in detention. However, existing literature has yet to canvass the issue in relation to the relaxation of the rules in 2018, whereby contracts were awarded to legal aid providers that lacked experience of dealing with detainees. In this article, I address this lacuna by arguing that detainees were hindered from accessing good-quality legal advice as a result of the lack of experience and expertise of the newer providers. Therefore, I will consider ways of remedying the current dysfunctional system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the role played by the Attorney General's Office - hereinafter PGR - as an institution that is part of the Public Ministry, which dates back to 1939, in the exercise of the defense of the Labor Rights of municipal public servants. who belong to the administrative career of the department of San Salvador. The results reflect that the PGR plays an active and fundamental role in favor of Salvadorans. This institution has provided advice, and legal assistance, promoted administrative processes and procedures in the defense of the rights of Salvadorans. Citizens who need protection and who, for the most part, have limited economic resources. The PGR has provided a comprehensive service, which has served to guarantee the fullness of these rights in compliance with the constitutional obligations established in article 194 Romano II and the Organic Law of the Attorney General's Office of the Republic -hereinafter LOPGR-. The statistics analyzed show that 2021 was the year with the most advice provided by the PGR in the Unit for the Defense of Labor Rights of Public Servants. There was a total of 746 consultations on dismissals in the department of San Salvador. There is a clear increase in legal assistance and processes promoted in the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, however, the PGR completed each process until its final instance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lawyers experience disproportionately high levels of poor mental health outcomes compared to other professions. This persistent problem can be explained, at least in part, by the fact that current initiatives are not adequately addressing the impact of trauma (from clients and lawyers). The legal profession is yet to embrace trauma-informed practice in the same way other human services have. In this qualitative study, 6 lawyers from Legal Aid describe what trauma-informed practice would ideally look like in their workplace. Many of the recommendations made by the participants such as training for staff, reduction in workloads, mental health leave, supervision, reflective practice, and debriefing are echoed in the literature. However, participants added valuable details about what service provision for clients, and the role of managers in bringing about change. The study provides employers with practical strategies to implement trauma-informed practice and manage the impact of trauma on their lawyers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to law and basic legal services constitutes a fundamental requirement of Rule of Law. The development of legal artificial intelligence apps providing better information and understanding of the Law applicable in each particular situation has blurred, even eliminating in some fields of legal practice, the distinction between “legal information” and “legal advice”. So, the combination of legal artificial intelligence, cloud computing and ICTs to produce “customised” legal knowledge and distribute it massively through the network is generating disruptive ways of legal service delivery that can help fill hitherto unattended pockets of basic legal needs. This requires, however, a new regulatory approach to legal services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a framework to understand the legal profession's participation in providing services to indigent clients. Our theory is based on two factors: whether lawyers have successful practices, and whether the legal aid delivered to indigent clients is free or below market price. Pro bono signals moral high ground in the profession. Conversely, a regime in which legal assistance is provided at a discounted market price ("low bono"), an under‐explored area in the literature, attracts less competitive attorneys, and doing legal aid cases is perceived as signifying incompetence in one's professional capacity. Using a unique, comprehensive data set on all legal aid lawyers in Taiwan (nearly 4000), two nationwide attorney surveys, and 143 in‐depth interviews with practicing lawyers across the country, we offer the first comprehensive empirical analysis of legal aid lawyers and explain that the design of a legal aid regime attracts lawyers of different hemispheres into the endeavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Konfliktmanagement is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores the integration of advanced AI technologies, including Python, Gradio, Langchain and Vector database to develop an innovative AI chatbot for legal assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Leveraging cutting-edge models such as Mixtral8x7B and NVIDIA AI endpoints, the chatbot demonstrates enhanced conversational abilities, real-time recommendations, and efficient processing of Bosnian language inputs. Through meticulous tuning and optimization, the system achieves unparalleled accuracy in capturing semantic relationships and delivers contextually relevant responses. Challenges in language processing, ethical considerations, and privacy concerns are addressed through collaborative efforts and proactive measures. The study highlights the significance of technological advancements in AI for bridging language barriers, promoting social inclusion, and ensuring equitable access to legal assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A trial waiver system was implemented and tested in 18 large cities of China during 2016–2018. The present study compares publicly appointed and privately retained defense lawyers in plea-bargaining in the tested system. The comparison is to assess the degree of their participation in all the plea-bargaining phases and the case outcomes. Data collected from a sample of defense lawyers from one of the large cities was used to conduct the assessment. The data indicate that publicly appointed lawyers had a significantly lower degree of participation in all the plea-bargaining phases than privately retained lawyers did. No significant difference has been found for the case outcomes between publicly appointed and privately retained defense lawyers. The implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights the role of digital platforms in legal assistance for displaced populations, mentioning the experience of the Norwegian Refugee Council with the KOBLI platform. The transformative potential of these platforms is emphasized, but the importance of ethical considerations and avoiding harm is also warned. The need to address inequalities in access to technology and connectivity is mentioned. Additionally, the article discusses the legal assistance program in Lebanon that uses KOBLI as a complement to in-person and telephone assistance. It is emphasized that the digitization of legal assistance can promote security and dignity, but also presents risks in terms of accuracy, security, and perception of impersonality. The article concludes by mentioning that the Norwegian Refugee Council is exploring opportunities to expand access to the KOBLI platform internationally. [Extracted from the article]

Technological developments in Indonesia continue to increase. This is followed by an increase in the level of insurance literacy. Digital-based insurance or InsurTech is the use of insurance products offered online. It is expected that the development of MSMEs in Magelang City will have the convenience of buying insurance products as an asset safeguarding investment in the event of an unexpected accident. The purpose of this study is to identify the potential of the MSMEs sector, identify related legal InsurTech services that can be accessed by MSMEs, and provide an important overview of InsurTech for safeguarding assets as a supporter of MSMEs sustainability in Magelang City. The study was carried out descriptively and supported by secondary data in the form of the number of MSMEs, MSMEs workers, and turnover. Data analysis was done using the Location Quotient method. The findings of the study show that the City of Magelang consists of four MSMEs sectors, namely, services, trade, agriculture, and production/non-agriculture. The study is divided into three regions with different base sectors. The northern region of the base sector included services, agriculture, and production/non-agriculture. Services and trade are the basic sectors in the central region, while the southern region has trade and production/non-agricultural base sectors. The results of the InsurTech mapping study show that there are four insurance services registered with the OJK including Qoala, Yuk Takaful, Cermati, and Pasar Polis. MSMEs sustainability can occur after the mapping of potential MSMEs and InsurTech sectors has been identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Georgetown University's Cancer Legal Assistance and Well-being Project launched in 2020 as a medical-legal partnership that works with health care providers at a Washington, D.C. safety-net hospital to treat the health-harming legal needs of historically and intentionally marginalized patients with cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Background] The growing role of information technology in the activities of legal practitioners, lawyers, notaries, and judicial authorities highlights the importance of addressing the problem. Additionally, the lack of comprehensive studies in modern legal literature regarding the essence of digital paid assistance in the field of legal activity underscores the need for research in this area. [Purpose] The study's purpose is to address the growing significance of information technology in various legal professions, including legal practitioners, lawyers, notaries, representatives of judicial authority, and law enforcement agencies. [Methodology/Approach/Design] The following research methods are the main ones in this scientific work: systemic-legal, formal-legal, comparatively legal, as well as historical, logical, and dialectical methods. Due to these methods, it became possible to determine the essence of digital paid services in the field of legal activity, to reveal their features, as well as identify their problems and develop ways to improve such services. [Findings] During the course of this study, several significant results were obtained. Firstly, the concept of digital paid legal services was elucidated, and the main types of such services were identified, along with their distinctive characteristics. Furthermore, the study highlighted both the positive and negative aspects of providing these services, emphasizing their significance in the development of legal science and the legal profession as a whole. [Originality/Value] The study is significant as it addresses the need for an effective legal framework to regulate digital services in the field of legal activity in Kazakhstan. It highlights the lack of comprehensive legislation and the slow integration of digital technologies into the legal sector. By exploring the challenges and providing recommendations, the study aims to facilitate the adoption of innovative technologies and improve the quality of legal services in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Brasileira de Direito Processual Penal is the property of Instituto Brasileiro de Direito Processual Penal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Many children in immigrant families may qualify for legal protection—for themselves if unaccompanied, or as a derivative on parents' claims—on humanitarian grounds related to persecution or forced migration. Pediatric providers can offer a spectrum of multidirectional medical-legal supports to increase access to medical-legal services and support children who are undocumented or in mixed-status families. These activities can include providing trusted information, incorporating screening for health-related social needs, establishing networks for multidirectional referrals, and providing letters of support for legal protection. To expand workforce capacity for medical-legal services related to immigration, pediatric providers can also receive training to conduct specialized, trauma-informed forensic evaluations and can advocate at individual, local, state, federal, and global levels to address factors leading to persecution and forced migration while supporting individuals who may be eligible for legal protection. [Pediatr Ann. 2024;53(5):e183–e188.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right of a person to protection is one of the fundamental human rights. The governments of many countries are taking measures to bring national legislation in line with international standards in the field of human rights protection. Despite this, many issues remain debatable and uncertain, and national law enforcement agencies sometimes continue to resort to violating these rights. This comparative legal study was carried out by studying primary legal materials, as well as secondary legal materials related to the researched legal issues. The theoretical and empirical basis of the research is represented by legislative acts, theoretical research and judicial practice analyzed using a qualitative approach. It is substantiated that the lawyer's monopoly on representing a person in criminal proceedings is justified and meets international standards of professionalism in the provision of legal assistance, because, unlike a person who is a lawyer by profession, lawyers pass qualification exams, have practical experience, undergo internships and constantly improve their professional level. It was determined that the rights of the defense counsel in criminal proceedings are derived from the rights of the person he is defending. Typical violations of the right of a person to defense, allowed by the national law enforcement agencies of European countries, have been established. It is argued that the improvement of the legal status of a lawyer should be carried out at the national level. This should be done taking into account international legal principles and judicial practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we experimentally evaluate the zero-shot performance of GPT-4 against prior generations of GPT on the entire uniform bar examination (UBE), including not only the multiple-choice multistate bar examination (MBE), but also the open-ended multistate essay exam (MEE) and multistate performance test (MPT) components. On the MBE, GPT-4 significantly outperforms both human test-takers and prior models, demonstrating a 26% increase over ChatGPT and beating humans in five of seven subject areas. On the MEE and MPT, which have not previously been evaluated by scholars, GPT-4 scores an average of 4.2/6.0 when compared with much lower scores for ChatGPT. Graded across the UBE components, in the manner in which a human test-taker would be, GPT-4 scores approximately 297 points, significantly in excess of the passing threshold for all UBE jurisdictions. These findings document not just the rapid and remarkable advance of large language model performance generally, but also the potential for such models to support the delivery of legal services in society. This article is part of the theme issue 'A complexity science approach to law and governance'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the relationship between the number of employees at law firms, or lawyers, and the provision of legal services in Russian cities. It aims to identify whether the increase in the number of lawyers leads to an enhanced level of legal services provision. In addition, it attempts to discern geographical patterns in the provision of legal services in Russia. To achieve these objectives, open data from the Federal Tax Service of Russia is utilized as the primary source of information. Linear regression is employed to estimate the hypothesized relationship, and data plotting and mapping are used to visualize it. The study demonstrates an overall positive square root relationship between the number of lawyers and the provision of legal services in cities, as well as a linear relationship between these variables in distinct city population size groups. It supports a widely held proposition about the pivotal role of the largest cities in the provision of services and also offers partial confirmation of the commonly accepted view about the positive impact of service concentration on their delivery. However, the study argues that there are multiple approaches to achieving a high level of legal services provision, with an increase in the number of lawyers being only one of the potential options. The findings of this research may serve to inform data-driven policymaking decisions of governmental bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of their confinement, prisoners are vulnerable to physical violence, deficient health care, inadequate nutrition, and a whole host of abuses. Due to the often-impenetrable walls of a prison, these abuses remain out of public sight. Because prisoners are frequently stripped of their right to vote, they are unable to find remedy through the political processes. Instead, one of the most powerful tools a prisoner can wield to bring attention to the abuses within prison walls and improve the conditions of their confinement is litigation. Prisoners have a constitutional right to access the courts. To render that right meaningful, the Supreme Court held in Bounds v. Smith that prisons have an affirmative obligation to provide legal assistance to prisoners bringing habeas corpus or civil rights actions, and one such way of doing so is to establish law libraries. Often without the help of a lawyer, prisoners must rely on the law libraries to effectively build a case, navigate discovery and motion practice, and potentially try the case. Unfortunately, the Courts of Appeals are split on the temporal scope of a prison's obligation to provide assistance. The Ninth Circuit held that obligation ends after a civil rights complaint is filed, depriving prisoners of the means to prepare for trial, and in effect, silenced prisoners. The Third and Seventh Circuits held the obligation persists through trial. Restricting prisons' obligation to provide legal assistance to prisoners to the pleading stage is just another item among the long list of barriers to prison litigation. This Note argues the Ninth Circuit's decision erroneously relied on Lewis v. Casey, a case the Supreme Court was without jurisdiction to hear and that provides no constitutional authority on the scope of a prisoner's right to access the courts. Anticipating the issue coming before the federal appellate courts that have yet to rule on the question, this Note provides an answer that not only finds constitutional and legal support, but fulfills the demands of Bounds: the right to access the courts must be meaningful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the challenges and proposals for harmonising the data collection and access for financial services and legal services firms and professionals in the EU single market. It focuses on the problems caused by the lack of uniform standards and formats for registers among national competent authorities and the potential benefits of creating a common registry format and information sharing mechanism. It uses concrete examples from both sectors to illustrate the current divergences and the possible solutions. It argues that the EU co-legislators and relevant authorities should work together to adopt and enforce such proposals, as they would enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of cross-border supervision, reduce regulatory arbitrage and fragmentation, and promote trust and confidence in the single market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This article examines the role of lawyers in entrepreneurship through the lens of service-dominant logic. Its aim is to understand how lawyers deal with the challenges of entrepreneurship while adhering to their core ethics and practice principles. The study reveals the factors that enable lawyers to effectively meet client needs. Material and methods: Using an analytical approach, this study integrates the academic literature on service theory, behavioural economics and entrepreneurship. It evaluates the service relationship framework and the service-dominant logic paradigm to capture the entrepreneurial dimension of legal services. It takes into account rankings of Polish law firms and REGON register data for a comprehensive analysis. Results: The results of the study provide an understanding of the interplay between law and business by examining how lawyers deal with entrepreneurial challenges while maintaining ethical and professional standards. To this end, the factors that enable effective client service were identified, i.e. both tangible (business-related) and intangible (related to professional competence) factors. The analysis demonstrates the role of lawyers as proactive stakeholders in the evolving legal services market, rather than simply as administrators of legal processes. It highlights the shift towards a more entrepreneurial mindset in the legal profession and the importance of sustainable relationships between lawyers and clients as the foundation of a successful entrepreneurial legal practice. Conclusions: The contribution of our analysis is a multidimensional exploration of the evolving role of lawyers in the context of entrepreneurship, based on service-dominant logic theory, which emphasises the need for adaptation and value co-creation in the legal community, enhancing the competitiveness and innovation of the legal profession. Lawyers have traditionally been seen as public servants. This article highlights their transformation into proactive, entrepreneurial legal market participants. It introduces the concept of the lawyer-entrepreneur, highlighting the key relationships between service providers (lawyers) and clients related to tangible and intangible factors. The article offers an innovative and interdisciplinary perspective on the lawyer as entrepreneur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As cybercrimes grow more sophisticated, network and cloud forensics have become vital investigative tools. However, complex legal, ethical, and practical challenges around extraterritorial evidence, privacy rights, volatile data, and specialized skills constrain these processes. This study critically reviews academic literature and industry reports to examine these multifaceted considerations holistically. It aims to aggregate the latest insights around regulations, technical protocols, certification regimes, and international cooperation frameworks shaping network and cloud forensics. The study follows qualitative research methodology, a doctrinal approach used for the analysis of regulation, and grounded theory used for the analysis of related literature. The results reveal gaps around the liability limitations of internet service and cloud providers, ethical bounds for ancillary data collection, and anti-forensic obfuscation techniques. Proposed solutions include accountability in technology design through transparency and oversight. Simplify procedures for cross-border legal assistance requests. Develop lightweight encryption methods that still enable lawful access as well as promote collaboration between industry and academia to advance cybersecurity tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The Partisan Republic: Democracy, Exclusion, and the Fall of the Founders' Constitution, 1780s--1830s" by Gerald Leonard and Saul Cornell is a concise and insightful book that explores the pragmatic opportunism of American politics in the early republic. The authors argue that the original Constitution focused on national governance led by elites, excluding women, Blacks, Native Americans, and the non-wealthy from full participation in democracy. Over time, democratizing forces incorporated non-wealthy white males into the polity, but this resulted in even greater exclusions for marginalized groups. The book also examines the gap between political rhetoric and policy choices, highlighting the importance of pragmatism and partisanship in shaping American governance. However, the book's analysis of the Jacksonian era and the "fall" of the founders' Constitution has been challenged by other scholars who argue that the Jacksonians actually strengthened both state and federal government. Overall, "The Partisan Republic" offers a well-written narrative of the complexities and contradictions of American democracy during this period. [Extracted from the article]