From judicial reform to legal aid to alternative business structures, new models are emerging for providing access to justice. But can these reforms close the justice gap or widen it? And how will the changing legal landscape affect lawyers? This article explores these questions, examining the impact of recent reforms, including the rise of AI and the movement toward more flexible work arrangements for attorneys.
Legal reforms are often driven by the desire to improve a country’s justice system and its ability to serve citizens, balance competing interests, and promote economic development. The success of these efforts depends on constructive partnerships between national actors, including the government, civil society and private sector. In addition, it is important to understand the broader economic and social context of law and justice reforms.
In the past, a dominant paradigm for law and development was based on the assumption that laws could be changed by top-down reforms guided by Western legal expertise. It also assumed that most people would view law in a positive light and thus support legal change.
But a more sophisticated approach to law and development focuses on engaging with society’s foundational narratives, including views about crime and criminal justice. These narratives are powerful, influencing public definitions of crimes and offenders, and guiding the design of law and justice systems. They are often hidden from view in a discussion of law reform, but they need to be addressed to foster productive conversation about change.