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

Public Counsel today launched the first ever mobile phone app that connects clients in need with pro bono attorneys. The app provides three ways for users to connect with Public Counsel:

• Refer a case - send Public Counsel information about a person who needs legal help;
• Take a case - find pro bono opportunities and email Public Counsel for more information or to take a case; and
• Provide an update on an existing case - current Public Counsel pro bono attorneys can provide a case update.

The Public Counsel Force for Good app is available free for download for iPhone and iPad. More information is available here. -M

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Every year M+R Strategic Services and NTEN publish the eNonprofit Benchmarks Study, which analyzes data from small, medium and large nonprofits in a range of sectors (including "rights"). This year’s report culls data on email messaging, online fundraising and advocacy, social media, and text messaging from 40 nonprofits. The Study also includes a helpful glossary of terms. You can download a copy of the 2011 study here (your name and email are required, but you can opt out of receiving emails from M+R and NTEN if you like). -M

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TechSoup is hosting a free webinar on Thursday March 26^th at 9:00 a.m. (Pacific) on “Mobile Technology for Advocacy and Activism.” This session will explore how to use mobile technology, including voice, SMS, applications, and the mobile web, for activism and engagement. You can register online here. -M

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ABA Site-tation, a blog that covers technology issues facing the legal community, recently re-launched at a new address and with an updated look. Check out the the great information it offers on security, online tools, and mobile computing. - K

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Yesterday, LifeHacker announced that Wikipedia launched its site for mobile devices. - K

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Yesterday, I mentioned that some clients have asked advocates to contact them by text message rather than by phone. Since not every advocate has a work cell and most advocates don't want to text clients from their personal number, I thought that I'd pass along an article from LifeHacker on how to send text messages with e-mail. And for those of you who need to brush up on common abbreviations so that you can decode the messages that your clients send back, check out this list. - K

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Steven Nipper of the InventBlog is hosting a free webinar on online tool and trends on December 16 at noon Eastern. From the agenda, it looks like it will cover a variety of topics including social media, mobile technology, and what comes next. Justin Foster of Tricycle, Inc. will be the presenter. - K

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"Last Call," an interesting new iPhone app developed by the folks at Avvo, helps you calculate your blood alcohol level (based on the number and type of drinks you've had) and find a lawyer in case you are pulled over for driving while intoxicated. You can read more about it here and download the free app here. -M

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comScore, Inc. recently released a report that for the first time shows the demographics of iPhone owners. It reveals that "while 43 percent of iPhone owners earn in excess of $100,000 annually, the strongest growth in users is coming from those earning less than the median household income." Specifically, the report indicates that "iPhone adoption since June 2008 rose 48 percent among those earning between $25,000 and $50,000 per year and by 46 percent among those earning between $25,000 and $75,000. These growth rates are three times that of those earning more than $100,000 per year." As we've suggested in the past, mobile technology has enormous potential for delivering legal information and advice to low and moderate-income individuals. -M

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For those of you who are equipped with iPhones, iPod Touch, or Safari/Chrome browsers, The Law Pod provides a great set of web apps for lawyers, including the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, Federal Rules of Evidence and U.S. Constitution. -M

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Thanks Bill Jones at the ABA, all of the session materials available for 2008 Equal Justice Conference are now online. Materials from the last five years are archived here. Many of the technology related session materials for the 2008 Conference are also available on LSNTAP. Next year's conference is scheduled for May 14-16, 2009, in Orlando, Florida. -M

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One of the cooler new apps available for the iPhone is a free 2D Barcode reader by 2D Sense (download here). By taking a picture of a two dimensional barcode with a mobile device equipped with a camera and 2D Code reader, you can access the information contained in the code. As an example, I've generate a QR Code (left) that contains a bookmark for technola. You can generate your own QR code here, or by using this Firefox add-on.

While 2D Barcodes are not yet widely used in the U.S., like text messaging they have the potential to provide targeted legal information and referrals to clients with mobile devices wherever the code is made available. For a good example of how 2D Barcodes can be used to connect the virtual and physical world, check out Semapedia. If you don't have an iPhone, see whether your phone is supported by BeeTagg, which reads Datamatrix, QR Code and their proprietary BeeTaggs. -M

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A recent article in the Daily Post (Wales), which was highlighted in today's Brennan Center Legal Services E-lert, reports:

Callers in desperate need of a lawyer in Wales will now be able to seek free legal advice by text message. An operator will return calls when mobile phone users text their name followed by the word 'legalaid' to 80010. Specialist advice on problems such as debt, inability to pay bills, or bailiff collection orders are offered through the service. ... The new scheme has been launched by Community Legal Advice, a free, confidential advice service paid for by government legal aid money.

For more information on text messaging in the legal services context (including ideas on how to implement projects like the one described above), be sure to check out Liz Keith's presentation on "Mobile Technology, Social Media,and Serving Low Income Communities" (PDF) from this year's Equal Justice Conference. -M

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"Some 62% of adult Americans have taken advantage of mobile access to digital data and tools. The Pew Internet Project's new report, entitled Mobile Access to Data and Information, examines mobile access in two ways and finds that:

• 58% of adult Americans have used a cell phone or personal digital assistant (PDA) to do at least one of ten mobile non-voice data activities, such as texting, emailing, taking a picture, looking for maps or directions, or recording video.
• 41% of adult Americans have logged onto the internet on the go, that is, away from home or work either with a wireless laptop connection or a handheld device.
• Overall, 62% of adult Americans have either accessed the internet with a wireless connection away from home or work or used a non-voice data application using their cell phone or PDA, according to the Pew Internet Project's December 2007 survey."

View the full report here. -M

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