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

The January 2010 ABA Young Lawyer magazine features an article on LiveHelp by Liz Keith, LawHelp program manager at Pro Bono Net. In addition to explaining how LiveHelp works, Liz showcases innovative LiveHelp projects and staffing models that are being implemented by legal services organizations across the country. -M

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As part of their year-end fundraising campaign, Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) has created a video that does a fantastic job of highlighting the potential of technology to help increase access to justice for low and moderate-income individuals. It focuses on LiveHelp, a project funded by the Legal Services Corporation, supported by Pro Bono Net, and originally piloted by Montana Legal Services Association and Iowa Legal Aid, which was recently launched in Illinois to assist those in need of legal help find quality free legal information, forms, and referrals. As the video portrays, in less than a month ILAO and their remote law student volunteers assisted over 1,300 users. It’s an excellent example how the innovative use of technology can help to mobilize volunteers, increase access to services, and ultimately address the unmet legal needs facing so many low and moderate-income Americans. Please consider donating to justice innovators like Illinois Legal Aid Online and Pro Bono Net this holiday season. Without them, projects like LiveHelp wouldn’t exist. -M

 

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Yesterday Illinois Legal Aid Online, the organization that oversees client, advocate and pro bono websites and other access to justice technology projects in Illinois, launched its LiveHelp project, which allows individuals to use a web-based chat service to communicate with a “navigator” to help them find legal information on their client website, IllinoisLegalAid.org. The LiveHelp project, which was funded by LSC’s TIG program, supported by Pro Bono Net, and originally spearheaded by legal aid organizations in Montana and Iowa, has now been successfully replicated in several states. For more information about LiveHelp, contact Liz Keith at lkeith (at) probono.net. -M

 

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At any given time, I have 12 zillion ideas for blog posts. They are stashed in my head, as browser bookmarks, in e-mail folders, and in the stacks of paper that sit on and next to my desk. While sorting through these ideas and looking for a topic for my next post, I found a few half-finished posts from the NLADA Annual Training Conference. NLADA happened a few months back, but since the the information is still good and Technola is a better place for archiving information than my office floor, I decided to finish them up and post them. So now turn your attention to this, the first of those two half-finished posts.

Innovations in Pro Se Litigation Tools - Claudia Johnson, Liz Keith, Ed Marks, Mary Neal, Marc Theriault

This amazing panel was put together by my colleague Claudia Johnson, Pro Bono Net's Court Collaboration Circuit Rider, and she recruited four people who understand how mission and technology need to fit together in order to produce successful projects.

Ed Marks, the Litigation Director at Legal Aid of Western Ohio, began and reminded attendees to think about a project's overall goal and to use the right tools for that project. Technology won't always be a part of the solution but don't overlook its potential to help. A great quote from Ed: "There is a myth that being in poverty means you can't use a computer. Legal aid advocates need to know this is a myth."

Louisville Self-Help Center

Ed was followed by Marc Theriault, the Law and Technology Projects Manager at Legal Aid Society (LAS) of Louisville, who described how LAS and their partners launched the Kentucky's first self-help center. Designed to be easy to replicate, the center cost $6,000 to set up and built upon existing resources, such as KYJustice.org, Kentucky's legal information portal, and Jefferson County's family law document assembly system. Along with launching this center, LAS has led efforts to establish a set of family law forms that would be accepted statewide. These statewide standardized forms would make it significantly easier to set up additional self-help centers. (While at the conference, Marc learned that the Chief Justice of Kentucky supports that idea and intends to approve the proposed forms.) Marc was nice enough to share a photo of LAS Self-Help Center with Technola. Let me point out that Marc is responsible for the new coat of paint on the walls and the art work displayed in the self-help center. This just goes to show that, as a legal aid attorney, you never know what your day will bring, so you had better be prepared for anything.

Next, Mary Neal, the Automated Documents Manager at Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO), spoke about the document assembly resources that ILAO has developed for use in Illinois' thirty-two self-help centers. She led the group through ILAO's process--from how they choose which forms they will automate all the way through testing and launch. Details can be found in her slides from the session.

Wrapping up the session was Liz Keith, Pro Bono Net Program Manager, who spoke about LiveHelp and its growth. LiveHelp is a service that lets website visitors ask remotely-located staff or volunteers for help finding online legal information and resources. Liz said that there are projects in Montana, Iowa, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, and Minnesota, with projects planned for Kentucky and New York. Wow!

The slides for this session are available online: What's the Goal?, Collaborations Behind the Innovations, Targeting Pro Se Automated Documents, and LiveHelp. - K

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Heads up. The LiveHelp Project has been profiled by LivePerson. From their press release:

"LiveHelp has been chosen as a subject of a case study by LivePerson, Inc., a provider of online engagement solutions that facilitate real-time assistance and expert advice. LivePerson's technology is helping legal aid advocates assist underserved communities as part of a joint project with Pro Bono Net, a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing access to justice."

Check out the case study. - K

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