Showcases TLC’s Certified Advocate Partner Program as a transformative access-to-justice innovation, under Utah’s regulatory sandbox framework.
In 2019, the Utah Supreme Court embarked on a “profound[] reimagining”21 of the regulation of legal services, shifting the rules away from restrictive prescription and toward an approach that can more effectively respond to the rapidly changing nature of the legal-services market and the unaddressed needs of consumers. The Sandbox has three key components:22
The Sandbox launched in August 2020.23 The Legal Services Innovation Committee of the Utah Supreme Court administers the Sandbox, while ultimate regulatory authority remains with the court.24 The court itself reviews and votes on each entity that applies for admission.25
Regular submission of detailed data about legal services provided by Sandbox participants gives a clear sense of what is happening with consumers and reveals emerging trends. The Innovation Office, which hosts the innovation committee, publishes a monthly report on Sandbox activity, making these insights publicly available.26 The data show that Sandbox entities are providing an increasing number of services across a range of legal areas, with very low incidence of measured consumer harm.
As of January 2024, 51 entities had been authorized27 and over 75,000 services provided to approximately 24,000 unique consumers.28 Just under 14,000 of those services were delivered by people who were not licensed attorneys or by software.29 Key areas of service include business law services (45.6 percent),30 likely primarily to small businesses, as few entities in the Sandbox serve large corporate clients.31 Other key areas include immigration, veterans’ benefits, end-of-life planning, accident/injury, and marriage and family issues.32
Consumer complaints are part of the required data reporting.33 As of January 2024, the office had received a total of 14 complaints, approximately one per 4,011 services delivered.34 The office determined that nine of those complaints raised potential consumer harms caused by the legal services provided, a ratio of one complaint per 8,468 services. Comparison to consumer complaints about lawyers is difficult, in part because the Sandbox counts discrete (unbundled) legal services rather than cases and in part because there are limited data on harms caused by lawyers. Social scientific studies grounded in expert peer review of lawyers’ work product find that lawyers typically commit impactful errors in one-fifth to one-quarter of cases.35 As of January 2024, entities operating in the Sandbox have responded to all reported consumer complaints “adequate[ly] and acceptabl[y], according to the Utah Office of Legal Services Innovation.36
Underneath these high-level statistics are a variety of companies and nonprofits offering legal services to consumers in new ways. Examples include:
This project was supported in part by the Utah Office for Victims of Crime, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of Timpanogos Legal Center and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Justice or the Utah Office for Victims of Crime.
This project was supported in part by the Utah Office for Victims of Crime, awarded by the State of Utah. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of Timpanogos Legal Center and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Utah Office for Victims of Crime or the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice.
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