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Innovations in Technology-Enabled Pro Bono

October 24, 2012

What We Will Cover Today• Why technology? • Models for providing remote pro bono services • Using interactive forms to support volunteer work• Mobile initiatives to market cases and engage

volunteers

Join the conversation via Twitter hashtag #lsntap

Moderator: Liz KeithLaw Help Program Manager, Pro Bono Net

Our Panel Today

Claudia JohnsonLawHelp Interactive Program Manager, Pro Bono Net

Adam FriedlPro Bono Coordinator, Pro Bono Net

Michael SollerDirector of Communications, Public Counsel

Erik ColeExecutive Director, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services

LSC Pro Bono Task Force Report Key themes:

• Provide a range of opportunities to engage all segments of the bar

• Include mechanisms for engaging non-lawyers• Develop a strong pro bono culture• Develop pro bono mechanisms for assisting and

empowering pro se litigants • Enlist community collaborators• Improve evaluation and data collection on pro bono• Use technology to support pro bono

Released October 2012: http://www.lsc.gov/sites/default/files/LSC/lscgov4/PBTF_%20Report_FINAL.pdf

Technology benefits volunteers

• Enables new pathways to pro bono participation• Supports involvement by non-traditional and

non-attorney volunteers• Supports work tailored to interest, skill level and

time commitment • Increases access to supportive resources and

expertise

Technology benefits pro bono programs• Encourages greater participation by offering

flexible, meaningful volunteer work• Allows for rapid and personalized

communication with volunteers• Connects volunteers and clients based on

interests and needs• Provides opportunities for new partnerships • Creates a program “presence” in hard-to-reach

areas

Technology benefits clients• Bridges physical, geographic, language and

other barriers in reaching underserved clients and communities

• Greater efficiencies and support for pro bono which can lead to an increase in both the quantity and quality of pro bono services delivered

• Increasingly, clients are expecting or turning to web-based tools for help

New York Family Court Volunteer Attorney Program

Remote Service ProjectAdam Friedl

Pro Bono CoordinatorPro Bono Net

About Family Court in New YorkCase Types

• Abused or Neglected Children• Adoption• Custody and Visitation• Domestic Violence (Family Offenses)• Foster Care Approval and Review• Guardianship• Juvenile Delinquency• Paternity• Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS)• Child and/or Spousal Support

Family Court in New York – the numbers

Number of dispositions per judge, 2005:– Family Court: 2,120– Supreme Court, Civil: 525– Supreme/County Courts, Criminal:

222– Court of Claims: 63

Another way to think of it:In 2006, 127 Family Court judges were responsible for 680,791 new filings.

Percentage of litigants proceeding pro se: >80%

Family Court Volunteer Attorney Project

• The Family Court Volunteer Attorney Project (VAP) provides free, discrete, unbundled legal advice by volunteer attorneys to un-represented litigants.

• Currently operates in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.

Credit: http://wikitravel.org/en/New_York_City

Current Limits on ResourcesStaten Island (Richmond County) has not been covered in the past by VAP due to geography and limited resources.

– Geography• The vast majority of volunteer attorneys

participating in VAP are based in Manhattan, where access to Staten Island is relatively inconvenient and time-consuming.

– Resources• No dedicated space for VAP.• No personnel to screen litigants in Richmond

County.

Remote Service ProjectThe idea: use technology to make VAP services available in Richmond County

– Use web-based communications technology to allow experienced volunteer attorneys in established VAP sites in Kings and New York Counties to assist pro se litigants in other counties.

– Use scanners and remote IP printing to deliver documents from litigants to volunteers, and vice versa.

– Use a VAP court attorney to aid the Richmond County Family Court in screening litigants and briefing volunteers.

Project Requirements

• Computer stations in New York, Kings, and Richmond Counties equipped with video conferencing software, cameras, microphones, speakers, printers, and scanners.

• Secure, stable lines of communication.

• Court attorney to triage litigants, brief volunteers, and access UCMS to view case history.

Pilot Program: New York to Richmond Counties

• Court attorney familiar with VAP travels once weekly to Richmond County to conduct litigant intake.

• Volunteers in Manhattan are connected to Staten Island using Polycom Telepresence (a proprietary video chat system in use in the court system)

The Process• Court attorney conducts intake with litigant in Richmond intake

room.• Litigant goes to waiting room. Court attorney briefs volunteer in

Manhattan via video call.– Prints any documents volunteer needs to IP printer in

Manhattan.• Court attorney escorts litigant to consultation room. Volunteer in

Manhattan counsels litigant via video call.• If volunteer has a question, mutes video call and telephones Court

attorney.• Volunteer returns to video call, finishes consultation.• Volunteer prints any documents litigant needs to IP printer in

Richmond.

Some Advantages• Kings and New York County Family Courts are

centrally located.• Kings and New York Counties currently have an

existing infrastructure for coordination and supervision of volunteers.

• Both counties have dedicated tech personnel to set up video conferencing and IP printing.

• Court attorney responsible for VAP is enthusiastic about the project.

Some Disadvantages

• VAP-trained court attorney must travel to Richmond County, at least initially.

• Scaling challenges beyond Richmond County to rest of state.– Technology infrastructure does not exist in

many courthouses and remains limited in Richmond County.

• Litigant unfamiliarity with technology.

Future Goals• Expand service locations beyond New York County.

– Eventually make it possible for volunteer attorneys to participate in VAP from their desks – to brief with court attorneys and to advise clients anywhere, securely.

• Use reduced barriers to entry to attract more attorneys to pro bono work in the Family Courts

• Involve legal services attorneys to take on “mentoring role” in areas where court attorneys not available to participate

Thank you for your time!

For questions or comments, please feel free to contact:

Adam Friedl

Pro Bono Coordinator

afriedl@probono.net

OnlineTNJustice.orgFree Legal Advice and Counsel

Erik Cole

Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services

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Other remote services trends to watch• Brief advice clinics connecting urban volunteer

lawyers with rural clients via Skype• Remote document review

– Completed forms emailed to remote volunteer– Use of GoToMeeting or other screen-sharing tools

• Real time (LiveHelp) and asynchronous chat systems (information, referrals and advice)

• Virtual law office platforms• You tell us!

Interactive Forms and your Pro Bono Projects

Claudia Johnson

LawHelp Interactive

Pro Bono Net

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• A training center—we teach people how to create these interviews

• A tech support center—we provide technical support

• A replication/best practices engine-we share best practices, a community of sharing

What is LawHelp Interactive? For the court and legal aid community

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Advocates or self-represented litigants answer questions during an interview.

A personalized document is created from the answers.

The answers can be saved and reused.

What is LawHelp Interactive? For the end user:

Supports use of HotDocs™ and/or A2J Author™ interviews

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Direct Representation: • Pro Bono Lawyers taking the case and using the forms in an area outside their expertize

(Minnesota and Ontario)• Save our Seniors Project (Illinois)• Wills for Heroes (various states)

Limited Scope/Unbundled Legal Services• Remote review of pleadings by pro bono lawyer/not having to go downtown to do pro

bono (Los Angeles, Georgia)• In person review by Pro Bono Lawyer at self help center (Ontario)—triage for full rep• Weekend clinics to generate wills, guardianships, power of attorney, en mass

Information/referral/ScreeningHelping victims in shelters do their forms ( social workers/victims advocates/Idaho• Emeritus attorneys staffing self help centers in libraries and courts (Illinois)• Emeritus attorneys staffing foreclosure hotline (Georgia)• Screening for N-400s (CitizenWorks)• Law students/Americorps staffing self help centers, leading workshops, and college

students staffing drop in centers (Los Angeles, Kentucky, Bet Tzedek)

How are volunteers using LawHelp Interactive forms?

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CA - 43,057 (in self help centers and one on one) NY – 81,153 (in self help centers and one on one court

based pro bono projects) Idaho –11,729 (in DV shelters lay volunteers) Illinois –37,397 (in libraries, Save our Seniors, one on

one, large group clinics) Arkansas –11,882 (pro bono clinics on weekends)

As of 6/30/2011 Source ProBono Net, LHI Quarterly Statistics

Top states by assembly have pro bono projects using forms

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Workshop Model, Los Angeles

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LA Superior Court

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San Bernardino Self Help

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What are the benefits of LawHelp Interactive Forms in a Pro Bono Context? Standardized content

Electronic remote sharing

Information Reusable Less training required

◦ Checks and balances, references, calculations◦ Resources can be put into the interview

◦ Sample pleadings can be reduced to one interview, one url—no need to send out multiple documents in one big binder

LawHelp Interactive can print instructions/documents in translated version and English

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Language Options

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Partnership at work

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The Domestic Abuse Self-Help Project[DASH]

• DASH created in 2006

• DASH: Partnership between NLS & L.A. Superior Court

• Self-Help

– Individual assistance

– Attorney review of all forms

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DASH by the Numbers• 4 clinics• 1 Supervising Attorney that oversees all the self help

centers• Across 100 miles of L.A.• Over 5,500 litigants annually.• Staffed by Volunteers• Family Law Attorneys assist in back-up of DASH

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DASH-The Old Days…1. Fill out each form using Essential Forms2. Print forms3. Litigant reviews forms4. Fax forms to off-site attorney 5. Attorney reviews forms (40+ pages each)6. Attorney calls volunteer 7. for changes8. Volunteer makes changes9. (Forms re-faxed for more review)10. Litigant signs forms

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• LHI-Hot Docs Program:–Consistent, Accurate Forms–Faster forms preparations–More time to prepare the declaration–Improved the quality

of declarations

DASH Program has Come a Long Way

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–Faster/Easier back-up–On the go back up–

not chained to a fax machine

DASH Program has Come a Long Way

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–Attorney can edit declaration–Allows for back-up attorneys to

issue spot and refer to outside services or in-house referrals

DASH Program has Come a Long Way

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DASH Program has Expanded in Los Angeles County

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• Recruited Pro bono attorneys for in-office review of forms

• Working with shelter advocates for off-site forms preparation

DASH Program has Expanded

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• Partnerships with Shelters• Recruited Baldwin Park

Police Department

DASH Program has Expanded

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• Example: Maria Is brought to FJC by LAPD• Interviewed by NLSLA• TRO using DASH Program• Attorney is at Court, Reviews forms & Files• Obtain Police Report from

Detectives• Other Party is Served in Jail

DASH Program and Family Justice Center

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• In Idaho, victims advocates support persons help victims prepare restraining orders and divorce petitions

• Support them during the hearing• Help available also at the court’s

self help site in some counties (Ada)

• Large rural state

Idaho-non attorney advocates

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• Minnesota created a very good module for pro bono lawyers using LHI and their advocate page

• Expungement is a complicated procedure• Initial investment was small ($2500)• Received Law and Technology News Award in 2012• Up to June 2012 it has been used 629 times and the

document has been created over 300 times• In the first year (2009) trained over 134 volunteers• In the last training they trained over 200 volunteer lawyers• Full representation model

Pro Bono Expungements Full Rep

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Pro Bono Innovation Award

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All supporting materials are online

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Guidance is provided step by step

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• Some are around a self help center• Others are around specific projects, like the

charity incorporation project• Created a Charity tool box in 2010• From Jan to September2012, the interview

was used 180 times (19 times per month)• It allows for incorporation and charity forms

request under Canada Law

PBLO has many pro bono projects using forms

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Pro Bono Website supports the online tool box

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• Contact Claudia Johnson cjohnson@probono.net or Mirenda Watkins mwatkins@probono.net

• They will connect you to the groups using online forms in your state already

• Or help you set up a project if none exist• They will help you explore different options/ideas

and help you with funding requests and evaluation• Think outside the box!

How can my pro bono project get LHI forms?

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Ontario Charity Tool Box

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For Additional Information• Domestic Violence Petition Clinic, NLS and Orange County Superior Court• www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programs/equalaccess/dash.htm

• Maribel Jimenez maribeljimenez@nls-la.org for DASH/NLS

• Lawhelp Interactive - http://www.probono.net/lhi or contact Claudia Johnson cjohnson@probono.net or Mirenda Watkins mwatkins@probono.net

• Ontario Charity Tool Box (example only)• https://

lawhelpinteractive.org/login_form?template_id=template.2010-01-28.6119892021&set_language=en

• Georgia Screening Tool for Foreclosure Cases, Emeritus Attorneys in the hotlinehttp://www.probono.net/dasupport/library/folder.323076 Atlanta_Legal_ServicesForeclosure_Online_Screening_Tool (needs password)

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Public Counsel’s Force for Good App and Mobile

Strategies

Michael Soller

Public Counsel

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Other mobile initiatives to watch

• IllinoisProBono.org app• Arkansas Legal Services

Partnership iPhone app• Coming in 2013- ProJusticeMN.org

“Pro Bono to Go”– Mobile-optimized client interview

guides, settlement checklists on mobile optimized via probono.net

• You tell us!

Still have questions?

Erik ColeExecutive Director, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Servicesecole@tals.org

Adam Friedl Pro Bono Coordinator, Pro Bono Net afriedl@probono.net

Michael Soller Director of Communications, Public Counselmsoller@publiccounsel.org

Claudia Johnson LawHelp Interactive Program Manager, Pro Bono Net cjohnson@probono.net

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING TODAY!

Register for the next LSNTAP webinar:

Providing Legal Services Remotely November 7, 2012 at 1 pm ET

More information at www.lsntap.org

Contact Information

Brian Rowe (brianr@nwjustice.org) or via chat on www.lsntap.org

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