Technola : Public Interest Law & Technology Updates & Commentary : Matthew Burnett & Kate Bladow : Tech Advice for the Non-Profit Legal Sector

Welcome, new techno.la readers from Montana! I'm glad you're here.

Last week, I had a great time at Montana Legal Services Association's Annual Training. I caught up with former colleagues, met several new staff members and volunteers, listened to great presentations, and talked about technology tools and practices for legal aid advocates. To top it all off, I saw mountains. Who could ask for more?

Incorporating technology topics into their Annual Training isn't new for Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA). Since at least 2003, when I joined the program, MLSA has had a few technology sessions on the agenda, but this year, they went all out. Of 15 sessions, 12 focused on technology or included a technology component. What a terrific way for program administrators to let everyone know how important technology is for their program!

The results of the LSNTAP 2008 National Legal Aid Technology Survey suggest that MLSA is probably an outlier when it comes to technology training for non-technical staff. Nevertheless, quite a few programs reported offering at least some technology training opportunities. If your program is one of those programs, I'd love to know more about the technology training your program provides. How often? What types?

And if you don't feel like your program offers enough technology training, don't worry. I'm documenting what I covered for MLSA here on techno.la, so that you can benefit from it, too. The downside is that you will still be missing the awesome presentations that Ed Marks, the Deputy Director of Advocacy at Legal Aid of Western Ohio, gave about technology, supervision, and litigation. (When you schedule your own technology-focused training, invite him to speak. You won't regret it.)

You'll be seeing my articles over the next several days. You've subscribed with Google Reader or email, so you won't miss any, right? - K

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In early September, I challenged bloggers to publish one post recognizing those who provide pro bono legal services during the National Pro Bono Celebration. Your response has been wonderful. (A special thank you to those who highlighted this challenge on their blog: Bob Ambrogi, Amanda Walsh, and Geri Dreiling.) Twenty-three people have signed up at PledgeBank, and another eleven people have emailed me to say that they'll participate.

If you want to join in, it's not too late. Just sign up on PledgeBank and then, between October 24 and October 30, post your article about pro bono legal services on your blog. - K

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This week, I'm at Montana Legal Services Association's Annual Training in Helena, Montana and am thrilled to be spending a few days with my former co-workers. They invited me to talk with them about technology: first about computer and information security and then technology tips for poverty law advocates. Later, I'll post a summary of the presentations here on techno.la.

But, in the meantime, I'll whet your appetite with two neat tools I found while doing research.

• Password Strength Checker This tool tells you if you have a strong password and gives you ideas for how to improve your passwords.
• Support Details This site tells you about your computer, letting you know the operating system version, IP Address, and other important information.

Any tech tip or security precautions that you think the Montana Legal Services Association staff needs to know? Let me know in the comments, and I'll pass it on. - K

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The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently announced two BTOP grants, totaling $6.1 million, to help bridge the technology gap and increase access to justice in North Carolina and Washington State.

In North Carolina, the North Carolina Central University School of Law will receive nearly $2 million to upgrade broadband service and expand access to its legal education programs. The project will use videoconferencing to serve low-income residents and undergraduates at Legal Aid of North Carolina offices at North Carolina Central University and at four Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well as expand its Street Law project and other public school initiatives. More information about the project is available here. 

In Washington, The Puget Sound Center Foundation for Teaching, Learning, and Technology will receive $4.1 million to expand public computing centers and enhance broadband adoption, workforce training, digital literacy, education, and justice resources. This project will partner with the Northwest Justice Project, Washington’s LSC-funded legal aid program, to create public computer centers in five rural courts, including the Kalispel tribal court. More information on the project is available here. 

These are the only successful BTOP grants involving legal aid partnerships that we’re aware of. If you know of other BTOP grant awards in which a legal aid program is a partner, please let us know in the comments. -M

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I come across so many articles that I'd like to blog about. Instead of saving them until I have time, which could be a while, here's a quick review of what I've been reading.

• Why is Microsoft offering free software to Russian NGOs? Microsoft is now offering NGOs outside of the United States a lot of free software, and this article explains why.
• The Who and Why Show (Episode 34): Brian Krebs Okay, so it's not reading material, but I still enjoyed it. In this episode of the security video podcast, computer security expert Brian Krebs talks about what keeps him up at night with host Steve Santorelli.
• Typography for Lawyers While reading this quick run through the rules of how to lay out documents so that they are readable, I've enjoyed the comments from readers almost as much as the author's initial posts.

Enjoy! - K

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Two last resources to wrap up my online video series:

• Using Video as a Marketing Strategy: Dos and Don't for DIY Lawyers The ABA Law Practice Magazine put together a great article that covers what you should and should not do when creating a video.
• Free Toolkit: The 17 Essential Tools You Need To Produce Your Own Videos Reel Social Media created a toolkit for people who want to put together videos but don't have much of a budget.

That's all I have to say about online videos, at least for now. If you have anything you'd like to say, you can say it in the comments below.

And if you haven't read the other posts in this series, check them out: Creating Videos for Your Nonprofit Website, Are Legal Aid Programs Posting Videos Online?, and The 8 Types of Videos Programs Post Online. - K

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In mid-August, I published tips for creating videos for your nonprofit website and looked at which legal aid programs are posting videos online. After watching many of the posted videos, I've found that they can be classified into 8 types.

1. Organization Introductions

Most organizations have created videos that describe their work and why it's important. For example:

• Legal Aid 2.0: Legal Help is Just a Click Away (Illinois Legal Aid Online)
• Legal Services of Northern California
• Bet Tzedek Is . . .

This is a challenging type of video to create. They need to be short, relevant, and visually interesting. Tell specific stories about your achievements. If you are looking for ideas, check out these award-winning videos: EcoViva, Darius Goes West, I Am the Wooden Floor, Join the Fight, and What Kind of Planet Are We On?

2. Client Stories

These videos focus on one client's story and discuss how his or her problem was resolved. For example:

• Leah (Montana Legal Services Association)
• TRLA TV - Texas Foster Youth Justice Project
• Brenden's Story (Arkansas Access to Justice Commission)

Typically, these videos feature the client and his or her attorney. Again, they need to be short, relevant, and visually interesting.

3. Volunteer Recruitment and Recognition

Especially around the National Pro Bono Celebration, organizations post videos to recognize their volunteers' efforts and recruit more volunteers. But, as Illinois Legal Aid Online demonstrates, these videos can also be used through out the year to encourage participation. For example:

• Volunteer of the Month (Illinois Legal Aid Online)
• One Promise (Florida Legal Services, Inc.)
• Arthur Miller/Pro bono (Thomson Reuters)


4. Law Student Recruitment

These videos focus on what law students and recent graduates can expect if they work for an organization. For example:

• TRLA TV's Law Clerk Chronicles: Meet Eric
• Class Reps 2010 Mt Rushmore (Equal Justice Works)

Not many programs create this type of video. Equal Justice Works is the leader in this area and has a library of videos that they use for recruitment. (It's also a terrific place to find ideas for innovative projects.)

5. Legal Information

Organizations have started using online videos to provide legal information. For example: 

• Downtown Community Court Videos (Justice Education Society)
• Debt Collection -- Part 1: What Debt Collectors Cannot Do (Arkansas Legal Services Partnership)
• Pro Se Court at the Daley Center: Filing a Complaint (Illinois Legal Aid Online)

In the near future, I expect to see organizations post many more videos that walk people through how to resolve all or part of a legal problem.

6. Issue Education and Advocacy
   

This type of video helps people understand how an issue affects a community. For example:

• Conviction, Deportation, and Family Separation (The Society Pages)
• Mississippi Center for Justice - Payday Lending

Programs that are not funded by the Legal Services Corporation are more likely to create this type of video.

7. Tributes

These videos honor one person or a group of people. For example:

• A Tribute to Shelley Davis, farmworker lawyer (1952-2008) (FarmworkerJustice)


8. News and Events

Quite a few programs are posting videos of conferences sessions, award ceremonies, and other events, so that people who couldn't attend can see them later. For example:

• Alter Rules of Professional Conduct to Permit Non-Lawyers to Help Meet Unmet Legal Needs, Says Laurence Tribe (American Bar Association)
• Illinois Legal Aid Online's Jill Becker receives CBF 2009 Chicago Sun-Times Fellowship
• Sam Donaldson for Legal Aid Bureau in MD (Maryland Legal Aid Bureau)

Those are the 8 types of videos that programs are posting online. But there are a few types of videos that I didn't see and would like to.

• Remixes and Mash Ups
  NTEN community members help fund scholarships for the Nonprofit Technology Conference. To motivate them, NTEN staff promise a reward if the community donates a certain amount. For the past two years, the reward has been video remixes of memes featuring NTEN staff and community members. For example: NTEN Community Rhapsody and Put a Ring On It - NTC Scholarship. The key is picking the right meme and the right situation. (Perhaps it's autotuning the NLADA Annual Training keynote? Then again, maybe not.)
• Interviews
  Mark Horvath is using video to make people aware of homelessness. He's posting unscripted interviews with people who are homeless at InvisiblePeople.tv. Unlike client stories, these stories may or may not have happy endings. Two great examples from Mark's many videos: Darryl and Jean and her children. Could the community use this technique to remind the public, funders, law makers, and others that their neighbors, friends, families, and supporters need legal help, too?
• Responses to Current Events
  Robert Egger, founder and president DC Central Kitchen, was very upset by Rush Limbaugh's characterization of nonprofits and their employees, so he used video to respond promptly and with a very strong message. (Please note that this video contains potentially offensive material.) While I'm not suggesting organizations should word their message as strongly as Robert Egger, perhaps your organization could respond creatively to currents with video.

So are organizations creating other videos? Are there other types that organizations should consider creating? Speak up using the comments below. - K

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ESRI, the company behind the leading geographic information system (GIS) software, announced a new donation program for nonprofit organizations last week at the Gov 2.0 Summit. Now nonprofits can get ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Server, or an Enterprise License Agreement for only the administrative fee. Interested, eligible organizations should register for additional information.

ESRI's CEO, Jack Dangermond, made the announcement during "Open Data and the Future of Mapping and Location Based Services," a session where he and Bernard Szukalski, another ESRI employee, showed how mapping data can help people and organizations interpret the massive amounts of data local, state, and federal governments make available.

Several legal aid programs are already mapping data with GIS software to help them advocate for their client communities. Matthew previously pointed to a presentation from Legal Services of Northern California's Race Equity Project that describes how maps helped to support expert testimony and show a town discriminated when providing water services. More information about the Race Equity Project and how they support their work with mapping are available online. Also several programs worked with the Legal Services Corporation Office of Inspector General to evaluate mapping and identify how to help programs take advantage of its potential. Materials and lessons learned from this study are available online.

Numerous resources are available for programs that want to learn more about GIS software and mapping:

• The Illustrated Guide to Nonprofit GIS and Online Mapping (MapTogether)
• GIS Mapping Resources (Legal Services of Northern California)
• A Few Good Mapping and GIS Tools (Idealware)
• GIS Mapping (LSNTAP)

Also, LSNTAP is hosting a series of GIS trainings. The next training is on September 16, and more information is available on LSNTAP's site.

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The BlogHer community likes to recognize their favorite blog posts. It started with the Community Keynote, a session at the BlogHer Annual Conference where bloggers are invited to read their posts. But as the community grows, the tradition does, too.

This year, in addition to the Keynote, BlogHer recognized 90 posts as 2010 BlogHer Voices of the Year. In late July, I was notified that my post My Name Is Kate and I Am a Listener was selected as one of the 90 posts. I was thrilled to be included among the likes of Joanne Bamberger, Tracey Gaughran-Perez, and Liz Henry.

But I evidently didn't read the notification email well because it wasn't until recently I found that my post was inspiration for a terrific piece of art by Kalani Cropper, "Listen."

You see, all of the 2010 BlogHer Voices of the Year were used as inspiration for custom works of art and are now being auctioned to support long-term Gulf Coast recovery efforts.

Interested in bidding on this piece? Do it soon. It's only available until September 20. - K

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Earlier this week, LSNTAP launched a newly redesigned website. Most noticeably, the main page was simplified, helping key items to stand out. Also, live chat support has been made available through out the site, so that help is available on any page, and an easy-to-find page was added to let you purchase training seats online.

So check out the LSNTAP site if you haven't visited it recently. If you like what you see, let LSNTAP know, or if you don't, let them know what you'd like to see. - K

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Thank you for your fantastic response to yesterday's "Will You Blog With Me?" post. Currently, 15 people have signed up to blog with me, and another three or four have emailed to say that they'll blog. But that doesn't mean that the rest of you can't join in. If you are interested, you can sign up here. - K

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Bloggers, I challenge you to publish one blog post between October 24 and October 30 in honor of the 2010 National Pro Bono Celebration. I am, and Tim Eigo, Scott Kuhagen, and Mike Monahan have pledged to join me. You should, too.

The National Pro Bono Celebration is a big deal. Last year, every state participated. Nearly 600 events were held. A number of legal aid organizations, pro bono programs, and bar associations created videos. Hundreds of people posted messages to Twitter and Facebook. But only a few bloggers published posts to recognize the lawyers and paralegals who provide free legal services to those who can't afford to pay.

I had hoped that more bloggers would reflect on their experiences, recognize their colleagues, and use the opportunity to talk about pro bono legal services. So this year, I want to see bloggers involved. Will you pledge to publish one post during the National Pro Bono Celebration? (And if you don't have a blog but want to sign up, let me know. Perhaps I can find a blog interested in a series of guests posts.)

Your post doesn't have to be elegant or elaborate. Just tell us what pro bono means to you. Perhaps you could tell us

• why you take pro bono cases;
• why access to the courts is important;
• about a memorable pro bono case;
• why you admire a colleague's pro bono service;
• about the pro bono program you work with;
• about a legal issue faced by low-income people that is related to your blog's topic;
• where lawyers can sign up for pro bono cases; or
• where people can find free legal help.

And you don't have to be a lawyer to join this challenge. Feel free to sign up if you were helped by a pro bono attorney, know that your clients or customers have benefited from free legal assistance, or if your business supports pro bono or legal aid organizations.

At the end of the week, I'll gather all of the posts together and list them on techno.la. (This will be in addition to my National Pro Bono Celebration post.)

Bloggers, you know that you'll be blogging that week. Why not join the celebration? Sign up here.- K

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