Lucas Bainbridge
Access to Justice with the Civil Justice Research Initiative
My research this summer will primarily focus on access to justice issues. This will be through the research, editing and publication of white papers on the impacts of changes in legal rules, class actions, the role of lawyers in improving outcomes for low income people with civil legal needs, and legal remedies for trauma stemming from racial violence and prosecutorial immunity. I will also assist on a new project on class action redemption rates and an NSF grant proposal to develop an integrated court data network on civil litigation. In short, this work helps shed light on civil litigation issues and the socio-political implications of disproportionate access to justice.
Message To Sponsor
I would like again to extend my thanks to my sponsor for generously providing funds and this summer stipend to continue the work that I have been involved in for the past year. This summer, I continued working on access to justice issues and was given the opportunity to be lead author on a white paper. This meant doing all of the research, writing and editing for publication in a leading law journal. This experience was invaluable, both in terms of career prospects and in terms of contributing to an expanding endeavour into access to justice. This research considers a new way of demonstrating litigable injury for trauma and will hopefully contribute to the tort law space. I’m incredibly grateful for your confidence in the URAP program which has helped me develop my legal and analytical skills. It has truly expanded my worldview and has encouraged my interest in the law, an area I intend to pursue after graduation.
Major: Geography
Mentor: Anne Bloom, Civil Justice Research Initiative