Responsive Law, a national nonprofit advocating on behalf of consumers of legal services, is proud to announce that Deno Himonas has become president of its board of directors.
Himonas was a justice of the Utah Supreme Court from 2015 until earlier this month, when he stepped down and joined the Salt Lake City office of law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Throughout his legal career, Himonas has concerned himself with issues relating to the access and affordability of civil justice in the U.S. court system. He led the court’s establishment of a regulatory sandbox for legal service providers, which allows innovative business models for legal service delivery to serve consumers in the state.
According to Himonas: “We are at an inflection point in the law. Millions of consumers lack adequate access to legal advice, meaning they lack access to justice. And it’s now painfully clear that a pro bono approach, while laudable, is just not enough to bridge the justice gap. We need impactful regulatory reform. Responsive Law recognizes the need and is all about making sure that change happens.”
Founded in 2010, Responsive Law is the only national organization speaking on behalf of users of legal services. Among the reforms it advocates are lifting the ban on non-lawyer providers of legal services and ending requirements that lawyers provide services through firms owned entirely by lawyers, which would allow consumers to use innovative business models that could provide affordable services through technology and economies of scale.
“I’m thrilled that Deno Himonas has agreed to lead our board of directors,” said Tom Gordon, Responsive Law’s executive director. “As a Utah Supreme Court justice, he showed the country that changing how legal services are regulated can make legal help more affordable without sacrificing quality.”
Responsive Law is a national, nonprofit advocacy organization that works to improve accessibility, accountability, and affordability in the civil justice system. The organization advocates for more competition in the provision of legal services, better self-help options for the legal system’s customers, and improved legal literacy for those customers. Responsive Law engages in policy research in support of its advocacy efforts before state legislatures, bar associations, and supreme courts. For more info about Responsive Law, visit www.responsivelaw.org.
