Endorsing Standards for Regulatory Reform Assessment Metrics
CONFERENCE OF CHIEF JUSTICES
Resolution 2: Endorsing Standards for Regulatory Reform Assessment Metrics
WHEREAS, the Conference of Chief Justices has repeatedly acknowledged that the promise of equal access to justice is not realized for substantial majorities of Americans, and the supply of free and low-cost legal services is insufficient to meet the demand; and
WHEREAS, most low-income individuals cannot afford legal services, and many middle-income individuals who are able to afford legal services do not believe that the benefit of those services outweighs their cost; and
WHEREAS, the Conference of Chief Justices has long championed the importance of meaningful access to justice for all, and in 2015 adopted Resolution 5, setting an aspirational goal of 100 percent access to effective legal assistance for essential legal needs through a continuum of meaningful and appropriate services; and
WHEREAS, the Conference of Chief Justices adopted Resolution 2 in 2020, urging its members to consider regulatory innovations to improve the accessibility, affordability, and quality of legal services while ensuring necessary and appropriate protections for the public; and
WHEREAS, state supreme courts are responsible for the regulation of legal service providers in their respective jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, the impact of regulatory innovations on access to justice, on the legal services market, and on the effectiveness of the regulatory system should be assessed to provide guidance for future innovations; and
WHEREAS, a consistent framework for assessing the impact of regulatory innovations will permit state supreme courts to compare different approaches and inform decision-making about the costs and benefits of regulatory reform projects; and
WHEREAS, the National Center for State Courts has extensive experience in developing standards for assessing court-related performance measures; and
WHEREAS, the National Center for State Courts has published a set of conceptual Standards for Regulatory Reform Assessment Metrics; and
WHEREAS, the Standards for Regulatory Reform Assessment Metrics include technical descriptions of proposed baseline measures and data elements, and identify potential measurement issues to aid in their implementation;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Conference of Chief Justices endorses the Standards for Regulatory Reform Assessment Metrics published by the National Center for State Courts and urges its members who have implemented regulatory reform projects to employ the Standards to assess the impact of these projects on access to justice, the legal services market, and the effectiveness of the regulatory system.