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

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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LSNTAP's Executive Roundtable in June focused on developing social networking policies. Featuring Stephanie Kimbro, owner of Kimbro Legal Services, a North Carolina virtual law office, and recent recipient of the ABA James I. Keane Memorial Award for her excellence in delivering legal services online, and Will Hornsby, staff counsel at the American Bar Association, this session was a good introduction to developing policies and provided an excellent starting point for programs thinking about social networking policies.

Since that session, I've found several additional policy resources:

• American Red Cross Social Media Strategy Handbook and American Red Cross Personal Communications Guidelines. Wendy Harman, American Red Cross Social Media Manager, shared her draft handbook with the public. These guides are based on the work of several large organizations, such as Microsoft, IBM, and Sun. (Beth Kanter talks about Wendy's materials here.)
• Social Media Policies and Procedures (Part 1). Daniel Hoang's post discusses policies briefly and then provides a sample policy and extensive list of resources.
• Enterprise: List of 40 Social Media Staff Guidelines and Social Media Policy Examples. Two long lists of social media policies. The Enterprise list also has some nice commentary on what to look at when examining policies. [Thanks to Kevin O'Keefe for pointing these pages out.]

So, does your organization have a policy in place? If so, please share. I know that LSNTAP is looking for more examples. And if your organization is working to put a policy in place, I'd love to hear what you want, or don't want, to see in that policy. - K

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The Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project (LSNTAP) today released an interactive report based on their 2008 technology survey of the software and hardware being used by nonprofit legal services programs. The report website allows you to filter survey results, rate products and vendors, update survey answers for your organization and export survey data. According to the survey, 31% of respondents reported that their program uses a wiki, 46% of respondents reported that their program uses HotDocs, nearly 50% of respondents reported that they use VOIP, and 50% of respondents reported using web conferencing to attend or host remote presentations. A summary of the survey results are available here. -M

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Interested in learning more about social network sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn? Then sign up for one or more of these free sessions about social networking and social media.

• On June 10, 2009 at 2:00 pm Eastern, Care2 is hosting "Share the Story: High Impact Ways to Integrate Social Media into Your Advocacy and Fundraising Campaigns." This session will demonstrate at how nonprofit programs can integrate social media into their campaigns by examining the lessons learned by World Society for the Protection of Animals- Canada. Register for Care2's session here.
• On June 11, 2009 at 2:00 pm Eastern, LSNTAP is hosting an Executive Roundtable on social networking policies. This session is aimed at Executive Directors and Administrators. Find out how to participate on the LSNTAP site.
• On June 17, 2009 at 2:00 pm Eastern, NTEN is hosting "You're All a-Twitter," a free webinar about Twitter that will walk through the basics of what it is and how to use it. Register on the NTEN site. - K

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This week LSNTAP announced that they will be hosting a GIS Mapping webinar series starting in June 2009. For more information, check out the LSNTAP website. - K

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And now for the second in my series of now-finished half-finished posts from NLADA. At the NLADA Annual Training Conference, conversations about sessions and keynotes were happening online as well as off. Several attendees were live-tweeted key points from the sessions that they attended. Additionally, NLADA set up an online community for the conference. More than 250 people signed up, and there were several people who added content and asked questions. And finally, if you are looking for session materials from the conversation, check out the LSNTAP website, where Eva, their diligent and very patient librarian, posted materials from the technology sessions. And with that, I'm done with blogging about the NLADA Conference! - K

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LSNTAP has announced their 2009 trainings. - K

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Do your staff know where they can turn to brush up on their spreadsheet and word processing software skills? What about to learn more about that new Web 2.0 stuff that can help them network and learn from each other? Yes, you may have told them before, but they have a lot of other important things on their minds--their clients. So I'd encourage you to remind them.  A few resources that you can point out:

• LSNTAP.org. As I've said before, LSNTAP is one of the first places that the legal aid community should turn to for technology training. Rumor has it that their 2009 Training Calendar will be announced shortly, but in the meantime, your staff can watch their recorded trainings.
• TechSoup.org. TechSoup has and is continuing to host free technology trainings for the nonprofit community. Check out a list of their scheduled and archived trainings.

A huge thanks to Mike Monahan, the Director of the State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Project, for inspiring this post. (And reminding me to remind you to remind your staff.)  - K

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Continuing my report on the NLADA Annual Training Conference sessions . . .

Technology Planning 101 - Jim Dill, Kate Bladow, Glenn Rawdon, Kathleen Brockel
So yes, I was on this panel, but I didn't really talk that much. The summary of what I had to say? Don't leave your techies in a room by themselves to create your tech plan. Your plan needs to be based on your organization's strategic plan, and you need buy in from attorneys, paralegals, administrators, and so on. After I was through with that introduction, the good stuff started.

Jim Dill, the Director of Technology at the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, talked about the statewide technology planning process in Pennsylvania. Less than a year old, his position was established to help the legal aid programs create and implement a statewide technology plan. Jim's initial goals have been to learn about the programs' existing infrastructures and needs and to help them to standardize platforms. After these initial steps, he hopes to help them to look at innovative initiatives that could be implemented on a statewide level. A few bits of wisdom that Jim provided the session attendees with:

• Check to see if your state government allows nonprofits to participate in their cooperative purchasing program. (Pennsylvania's program is called COSTARS.)
• Review your contracts with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) yearly. Programs may be able to save money by re-negotiating contracts.
• Don't sign a contract for T1 services for more than a year at a time. The price is likely to decrease, and you don't want to be stuck in contract if you could be paying less.
• Don't use consultants for strategic planning. Consultants are good for day-to-day tasks, but in most cases your mission is not their passion.

After some discussion and questions from the audience, Kathleen Brockel shared the results of the LSNTAP technology survey. A few points of interest:

• Programs spend the most on hardware and personnel. If the personnel line is low, it is usually made up by contracts for outside support.
• 99 to 100 percent of programs that responded have the security software necessary to protect their data, except in the case of instant messaging.
• Three-quarters of programs are using document assembly, and 46 percent of programs are using HotDocs.

If you want to check out more of the statistics, you can view Kathleen's slides on SlideShare.

Glenn was the closing act and discussed planning for document assembly projects. The summary--programs should be using document assembly. Get on the bandwagon. Unfortunately, I was watching for questions and confused looks and didn't take notes. I would recommend that you check out his slides, which are also on SlideShare. - K

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I sat in on several great sessions at the NLADA Annual Conference. While most weren't technology sessions, technology was nicely woven in to all of the presentations.

LSC Updates - Helaine Barnett, Karen Sarjeant, John Constance
I missed the first few minutes of the session, but I did arrive in time to hear Helaine Barnett talk about the LSC technology survey and the resulting guidelines document, Technologies That Should Be in Place in a Legal Aid Office Today, which was recently released. LSC is working to support grantees as they implement the outlined technologies. In particular, they worked with LexisNexis to develop a HotDocs software donation program and have funded the national document assembly project (NPADO) to support programs implementing document assembly initiatives. Through TIG, LSC provided funding for an updated version of the case management system report as well as a rating system for hardware, software, and vendors. LSC is also looking at identifying additional training opportunities and, as a part of this, will be webcasting parts of the TIG conference. In order to ensure that programs are looking at using technology to improve their service delivery, a technology plan will become a required part of an LSC grant application as was previously mentioned on technola. Additional technology-related news that was mentioned: LSC will shortly be sending check notices electronically; 33 TIGs were awarded; and LSC has funded the development of a website that focuses on legal issues for active military and veterans.

Client Use of Technology: 2008 Updates - Gene Donney, Kathleen Brockel
Gene led a great session about Internet use. (His slides are available on the LSNTAP.org site.) It was one of the most interactive sessions that I've participated in for a while. And Kathleen was an amazing Vanna White! My take aways:

• The digital divide still exists, but it is getting smaller.
• Our clients are using technology with us or without us, and we need to adapt, so that we can better serve them. For example, another attendee told the story of being asked to send a homeless client a text message rather than phone him because it cost less on a pre-paid cell phone. This is simple and can provide significant benefit to the client.
• Legal aid has to provide more than one way of accessing its services. I will be the first to acknowledge that technology is not the solution for everything. Some communities, like migrant workers, can be best reached through in-person intake; others can easily access legal aid through hotlines. In the same way, online intake can act as an important funnel for others--homeless families who don't have access to a phone because public telephones are disappearing and people who turn to the Internet for resources first.

That's all for today. Check back later this week for more. - K

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Last week, it's likely that you overlooked two interesting conversations that happened on the Internet. They weren't publicized and they were pretty spontaneous, but both point to the potential value of blogging for our community.

• Ken Montenegro started a conversation about cloud computing and what software people use to keep their data accessible on his LSNTAP blog.
• Mike Monahan started an impromptu conversation about access to justice and pro bono in rural areas on Twitter. Both he and Liz Keith had some great insights.

The good news: because these conversations are online and asynchronous, you haven't missed them. You can still react and share your thoughts. - K

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On October 31, 2008 at 11 am Pacific/2pm Eastern, I'll be discussing how the Immigration Advocates Network is using online media and social networking tools to engage advocates and increase communication and coordination in the immigrants' rights sector for a LSNTAP training on Creative Uses of Technology in Poverty Law. Other topics for this session include:

• Linking case management systems to document generators
• Call centers to connect pro bono attorneys with clients
• Online advice and representation platforms
• Litigation document management software
• Sharing pleadings with pro bono attorneys

To register for this free webinar, click here. Hope to see you there! -M

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If you haven't seen it yet (it was just featured in this week's LSC update), be sure to read "Who's Putting a Price on Free Legal Aid?" by Terry Carter in the September issue of the ABA Journal, which looks at the problem of legal aid domain cybersquatting. To learn more about how cyber-piracy impacts the legal aid community and how to protect your program, check out these resources available on LSNTAP. -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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Creating a quality website with little or no knowledge of HTML or other programming languages is no longer the challenge that it once was. With the evolution of blogging platforms, wikis and other web-based content management systems, you can now build a web presence for your organization or projects with little more than some extra time on your hands. Here are a few free hosted solutions that will put you on your way to a website without having to write a lick of code:

• Blogs: In addition to the popular weblog platforms such as Wordpress and Blogger, check out the tumblelog offerings, which land somewhere between weblogs and micro-blogging sites like Twitter. My current favorite is tumblr, which is extremely easy to use, allows you to post from your mobile device, offers a really nifty Firefox plug-in, and (with a little bit of effort or a free theme) is fully customizable.

• Wikis: Most hosted wikis don't make for particularly good general purpose websites, but wetpaint is an exception. Wetpaint's innovative social publishing platform allows you to effortlessly post and edit text and multimedia content in a wiki-like environment, as well as to easily customize the overall look and feel. If you're looking to build a website to support an online community, and can put up with a few Google ads, wetpaint is a good option.

• Other options: If the blog or wiki platforms above aren't the right fit for your project, consider Google Sites and Roxer. Google Sites, which we've showcased before in a Free Friday post on project management solutions, is somewhat of a hybrid. It supports collaboration (like a wiki) and fairly robust permissioning, but has a more traditional website feel. Roxer, while not big on collaboration, is one of the most innovative hosted website solutions that I've seen. As its website claims, "now anyone can create beautiful websites online in just minutes." It truly takes WYSIWYG to an entirely new level.

Also be sure to check out the recent webinar by LSNTAP and Pro Bono Net on building program websites. In addition to great suggestions on finding the right platform and host, it provides helpful tips and resources on layout, design and incorporating multimedia. Also, for those states using the LawHelp template, ask your Circuit Rider about program sites, which are free to legal aid and public interest organizations. -M

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You've probably heard the news. The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) intends to require a technology plan as part of its 2010 grant competition. Perhaps this news has made you happy in that you now have a good reason to get started. Or perhaps it just made you cry, rant and rave, quake in your boots or giggle hysterically. How are you going to get this done on top of everything else? And what's a technology plan anyway? Don't worry. Here's a list of free resources to help you along.

• Statewide Technology Planning Manual - The resource for technology planning in the legal aid community. LSNTAP drafted this manual to help legal aid programs develop technology plans without hiring a consultant.
• Path to Successful Technology Planning - A free webinar on June 5, 2008 from TechSoup.org. TechSoup.org is a technology community that provides free technology resources and support to the nonprofit community. They also run TechSoup Stock, which provides discounted or free technology products to nonprofits. In addition to the training, or if you can't attend, make certain to check out TechSoup.org's technology planning center.
• How to Cost and Fund ICT - A technology planning guidebook. It gets to the point of a technology plan - finding out what your technology costs and how you are going to get the money to fund it - and provides some great worksheets and checklists for you to use as a part of the process. I'll admit that I've only scanned this document and haven't read it thoroughly, but Beth Kanter and Marc Osten, its authors, are known for providing high quality content.

I hope that this gives you a handle on what technology planning involves and a few resources to get your plan started. - K

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You've found the perfect training to solve that nagging problem. Perhaps it's for that attorney who keeps asking you the same Word formatting questions, the sys admin who needs to brush up on their skills, or even your officemate who hums off key. But it's incredibly expensive. Why, oh why can't you find cheap, but good, trainings?

Well, here's technola to your rescue. Today, I present a few free training options.

• LSNTAP.org. If you are in a legal aid program and don't know about the Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project (LSNTAP), you've likely been hiding under a rock. But just in case you haven't heard, LSNTAP regularly holds and records technology trainings on a wide variety of subjects: MS Word, LegalMeetings, document assembly, Internet trends, website best practices, and so on. Check out their training calendar and their archived trainings. LSNTAP also holds monthly Tech Noodling Roundtables. While not really a training, it is a great opportunity for legal aid techies to interact with their colleagues and get some support.
• Lynda.com. Most of the technology training content that Lynda.com provides is available for a low monthly subscription fee ($25); however, you can check out chapters of many of their titles for free. For example, you can get a brief overview of XML, learn the basics of search engine optimization, introduce yourself to the basics of computer privacy and security, and figure out how to navigate PDFs.
• YouTube.com. Yes, YouTube has plenty of material that couldn't even be remotely classified as "training." But it does have useful material, too. For example, the officemate mentioned above might want to check out Singing Lessons with Nikki Scrase. Or perhaps you want to introduce your office to social bookmarking. Instead of creating your own materials, you could just point them to Social Bookmarking in Plain English.

So there are a few sites where you can find free trainings. But there are many more. Let us know in the comments below if you've got a favorite free training site. - K

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