Alaska Law Review

This month, ALR trekked thousands of miles from Durham, North Carolina to visit Fairbanks, Alaska for spring break! Our journal members had the incredible opportunity to meet with various attorneys and judges to learn more about the unique issues facing the Alaskan legal community. The group also took advantage of all the fun Fairbanks has to offer! From learning to curl, dog mushing, hiking with reindeer, sledding, visiting the Chena hot springs, attending an Ice Dogs hockey game, and so on, our members kept themselves quite busy. Thank you to the Alaska Bar Association for making this trip possible!

J.J. Prescott examines how courts have been expanding access to justice by adopting online dispute resolution (ODR) platforms and other outward-facing communication technologies in "Next Steps in Online Courts: Accelerating Access to Justice Through Court Technology." Prescott explores how Alaska innovates in this area by using technology to mitigate unique geographic and demographic barriers and leverage out-of-state resources. Read here: https://lnkd.in/eBExHWZ6

In her article titled "Justice Beyond the State," Kirsten Matoy Carlson explores how strengthening tribal courts through restorations of jurisdiction can address access to justice issues in Alaska Native villages. Matoy Carlson argues that, to be successful, Alaska Natives must be the ones to define the justice provided in their communities. Read here: https://lnkd.in/eZaPAacq

Rebecca L. Sandefur and Matthew Burnett in their article "Building Successful Justice Worker Programs: Emerging Insights from Research and Practice" explore the role of community justice workers as a transformative model to provide legal services to individuals. Sandefur and Burnett offer ten essential insights for successful programs that reflect discoveries from a growing body of social scientific research. Read here: https://lnkd.in/eVGDqbrK

Joy Anderson, Sarah Carver, and Dr. Robert Onders explore how Alaska's characterization as a legal desert—a large geographic area with few attorneys—contributes to the access to justice gap in the state. To address this need, Alaska Legal Services Corporation is turning to community justice workers to offer intervention for particular legal issues. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e2qBV2ve

In her Keynote Address titled "Addressing the Access to Justice Crisis: Think Systemically, Act Locally" Nikole Nelson explores the vast scope of legal problems specifically facing the poor and people of color in Alaska. In doing so, Nelson advocates for an approach that de-centers lawyer-only solutions and encourages the involvement of community-based organizations to meet these needs. Read here: https://lnkd.in/eeQY5Tyx

The December 2024 "Access to Justice" Symposium Edition is now published and available for viewing: https://lnkd.in/e4KjW4VM

Last week the Alaska Law Review hosted its 2024 Symposium titled “Expanding Access to Justice in Alaska.” Panel topics included structural barriers to legal reform, tribal law, environmental law, Alaska’s legal services shortage, and more. A huge thank you to all our wonderful panelists for participating and to our Executive Development Editor, Hannah Berg, for planning the event!

The 2024 Symposium is less than one month away! Please see below for the schedule of speakers broken down by panel and topic. RSVPs can be submitted at https://lnkd.in/gpDEPs82.

We're so excited to share details of the panels comprising the 2024 Symposium on Access to Justice! For more information on panel schedules and panelists, visit https://lnkd.in/ewCanRAs. RSVPs may be submitted at https://lnkd.in/eBsY7Qff.