The summer continues to fly by at a blistering pace, and despite the headlines being on the light side in the regulatory innovation space, we know there continues to be a great deal of work happening on the ground. One example is in Washington. Did you know that the Washington State Bar Association has a built-in innovation team? No wonder Washington continues to be a leader when it comes to regulatory innovation. Learn more in this recent IAALS article.

On the IAALS front, we will soon be publishing a toolkit designed to help leaders interested in developing prosecutorial guidance or non-prosecution policies, and we will host a related webinar towards the end of September. These mini projects are in partnership with the Duke Center on Law and Technology and more details will be provided soon.

Finally, on the ABS front, Governor Pritzker recently signed HB 5487 into law in Illinois. You can learn more about the bill here.

• June 18, 2026: Calif. Moves On Proposal To Allow Legal Aid By Nonlawyers Law360 
• July 1, 2026: Morag Black Polaski; Shawana Almendarez; North Carolina Justice For All Project United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• July 2, 2026: Frontline Justice and Josef Partner on Multi-State Rollout of AI to Protect Access to SNAP Benefits LawSites
• July 2, 2026: NC paralegals explain free-speech lawsuit in 4th Circuit brief The Carolina Journal
• July 28, 2026: Lawyers cannot close the justice gap alone Daily Journal

California

The State Bar of California has extended the public comment period for the proposed California Community Justice Worker Program. The deadline for submitting public comments has been extended to August 22, 2026.

The proposed rule would establish a new Community Justice Worker Program allowing trained nonlawyers—working alongside and under the supervision of lawyers at approved legal aid organizations—to provide limited legal services to clients of those organizations as part of efforts to expand access to justice.

You can learn more and submit a public comment through the State Bar of California's public comment page. The California Community Justice Worker Coalition has also created a resource page with additional background information and materials that may be helpful when preparing comments.

Thank you for your interest in this work, and please feel free to share this update with others who may be interested.

• Law Society of Ontario Access to Innovation Program Annual Report (July 26, 2026)
• Institute for Justice Counsel Unbound Project
• Utah Supreme Court Ad Hoc Committee on Regulatory Reform Resources

• October 7-9, 2026: ABA Forum on Building Access to Justice for All
• October 21-22, 2026: Access to Justice Network Conference
• November 4, 2026: Frontline Justice NLADA Pre-Conference Community Justice Worker Convening
• November 4-7, 2026: NLADA Annual Conference 

Some highlights from the latest activity report out of Utah's Office of Legal Services Innovation (last updated June 2026): 

6 regulated entities (one of these has two subsidiaries)

6 moderate risk

50 applicants since reopening in February 2024

2 applicants recommended for entry since reopening

35 applicants denied entry since reopening

0 applicants on hold

1 new consumer complaint in May, no new complaints were reported in June

The Sandbox is currently in Phase 3, with a focus on sunsetting the Sandbox and institutionalizing reform efforts. Therefore, the Sandbox is no longer accepting new applications. You can learn more about the ongoing efforts to institutionalize reform by visiting the Utah Supreme Court Ad Hoc Committee on Regulatory Reform resources page.

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