ODW26C35 – Reimagining Access to Justice: A Regulatory Reform Design Lab
Part 2 of this series is an interactive lab where participants design Community Justice Worker or Allied Legal Professional programs, focusing on scope, credentialing, supervision, and ethical, equity-driven approaches to expand access to legal help.
Course Category: On-Demand Webinars
Course Level: Intermediate
CLE Credit: Substantive
CLE Hours: 1.5
Fees: $49 for Members and $70 for Nonmembers
Course Materials: Webinar recording and a PDF of the PowerPoint slides.
Description: This session builds on Part 1 of the series and invites participants to apply reform concepts in a hands-on design lab focused on regulatory innovation. Throughout the session, learners will be given dedicated time to independently design either a Community Justice Worker (community helpers often based in legal aid or nonprofit organizations) or an Allied Legal Professional (limited licensed professionals often based in law firms) program, considering scope of practice, credentialing pathways, supervision models, and accountability structures.
Participants will develop and reflect on their designs using:
- Lessons from early-stage efforts (e.g., Washington’s LLLT program) and evidence-based, fit-for-purpose credentialing
- Ways alternative legal service models can advance equity, mitigate harm, and promote fairness for underserved populations
- The impact of design choices on public trust, community safety, and informed consent
By the end of the session, participants should be able to identify the core elements of a regulatory reform model and use design prompts to explore different program structures. This lab-style session encourages learners to actively apply concepts and consider the opportunities and trade-offs involved as regulatory frameworks continue to evolve across the country.
Course Year: 2026
Presenter Biography: Dr. Alicia Mitchell-Mercer[CS1.1], ACP, RP, NCCP, SCCP, PMP, CSM, LPP, is the Chief Operations Officer at Frontline Justice and a FINRA arbitrator with 20 years of legal experience, including over a decade in legal project management. Previously, she served as Director of Legal Project Management at a consulting firm and worked as a legal project manager and paralegal. Alicia holds a Doctor of Public Administration and an MS in project management. A passionate advocate for access to justice, she serves on the NC Equal Access to Justice Commission and as Director of Special Projects with the NC Justice for All Project.
Co-Presenter Biography: Michael Houlberg is the Director of Special Projects at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS), where he leads initiatives on family justice and regulatory reform to improve accessibility, efficiency, and fairness in the legal system. Houlberg leads our Allied Legal Professionals project, unbundled legal services work, and family justice reform work. Houlberg received his JD from the University of San Diego School of Law and his BS in Psychology from Brigham Young University. He is a member of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology.