Empowering the Powerless? Legal Services for Vulnerable Populations in India and China

The "Empowering the Powerless? Legal Services for Vulnerable Populations in India and China" symposium will be held in Indiana University

Decades of law and society research has established that unmet legal needs—a gap between the demand for and the supply of legal assistance—are an endemic feature of American society. Once we leave the United States, however, far less is known about the character of legal needs and the extent to which and ways in which they are satisfied, particularly in low-income regions of the world.This special seminar sponsored by the IU Center for Law, Society, and Culturebrings together leading law and society scholars conducting research on this very topic in the world's two most populous countries. Participation in the global economy has generated vast wealth for some and has reproduced and exacerbated socioeconomic vulnerability for far more in China and India. Dispossession of land rights, environmental degradation, and unpaid wages are among the many serious problems faced by peasants, migrant workers, and other vulnerable populations (many of whom are women) in these contexts. How commonly do people with legal needs seek the help of lawyers and other legal service providers? How commonly and in what ways do legal service providers help protect (or undermine) individuals’ legal rights and interests? Panelists will try to identify institutional barriers to the greater provision of high-quality legal services to among the most needy in the world. Invited outside presenters are Sylvia Vatuk, University of Illinois -- Chicago, and Sida Liu, University of Wisconsin.