innovations in technology-enabled pro bono
TRANSCRIPT
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Innovations in Technology-enabled Pro Bono
October 23, 2013
Presenters
Mirenda WatkinsLawHelp Interactive Coordinator, Pro Bono Net
Adam FriedlPro Bono Coordinator, Pro Bono Net
Carolyn CoffeySupervising Attorney, MFY Legal Services
Liz KeithLawHelp Program Manager, Pro Bono Net
Road Map
1. Technology-enabled pro bono Initiatives• LawHelp Interactive• NY Family Court Remote Volunteer Attorney
Project• NYC Consumer Debt Defense Clinic and Forms• Latest Innovations: Mobile and remote services
2. If you build it, they will come. Does the Field of Dreams maxim hold true for tech and pro bono volunteers?
Takeaways What to think about when you think about incorporating tech.
What volunteers need to embrace new, unfamiliar models.
Remember that the Legal Services-Tech empire was not built in a day.
A few ideas to explore and how to get started.
Image Courtesy of Ginnerobot / Flickr
Goals for Tech-Enabled Pro Bono
Pro bono programsNew pathways for volunteers to learn about and engage in your programs
Pro bono lawyersEnhanced support, access to expertise, and new forms of volunteering
ClientsGreater resources and efficiencies; increased services to underserved clients and communities
LawHelp Interactive: Examples of Technology Tools with the Power to Enhance Pro Bono
Initiatives
Mirenda Watkins, Esq.
LawHelp Interactive Program Coordinator
Pro Bono Net
LawHelp Interactive
o A training center—we teach people how to create interactive interviews
o A tech support center—we provide technical support
o A replication/best practices engine—we share best practices, a community of sharing
What is LawHelp Interactive (LHI)?
What is LawHelp Interactive (cont’d)
Advocates or Self-represented Litigants answer questions during an interview.
Supports use of HotDocs™and/or A2J Author™ interviews.
A personalizeddocument is createdfrom the answers.
Direct Representation: • Pro bono lawyers are taking cases in an area outside their expertise and filing pleadings using LHI technology
Limited Scope/Unbundled Legal Services• Remote review of pleadings by pro bono lawyers/not having to go downtown to do pro bono • In person review by pro bono lawyers at self-help centers
Information/referral/Screening• Emeritus attorneys staffing self-help centers in libraries and courts • Emeritus attorneys staffing foreclosure hotlines (Georgia)• Screening for N-400s (Citizenship Works)• Law students/AmeriCorps staffing self-help centers, leading workshops, and college students staffing drop-in centers (Los Angeles, Kentucky, Bet Tzedek)
How are Pro Bono Volunteers using LawHelp Interactive Forms?
• Standardize Content
• Electronic remote sharing
• Reusable information
• Reduce training time by providing checks & balances, references, and calculators
• Sample pleadings can be reduced to one interview, one URL–no need to send out multiple documents in one big binder
What are the Benefits of Interactive Forms in a Pro Bono Context?
Building a Program - Partners
Pro Bono Net, NPADO
• Build support among court staff
• Engage access-to-justice community partners
• Don’t overlook other potential partners
• Plan, plan, plan, and plan for delays
• Be ready to compromise
©2008 National Center for State Courts
Lessons Learned
Pro Bono Net, NPADO
• Creative Thinking Plan for sustainability from the beginning• Use standard forms that every court must accept• Learn from other jurisdictions’ projects• Find a “champion”• Build support for the project• Do not be overly ambitious• Integrate the project into existing service delivery channels• Train staff to use the system• Promote the project• Evaluate
©2008 National Center for State Courts
New York Family Court Remote Volunteer Attorney Program
Adam FriedlPro Bono Coordinator
Pro Bono Net
Family Court in New York – the numbersNumber 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 Remote Volunteer Attorney Project
• The Family Court Volunteer Attorney Project (VAP) provides free, discrete, unbundled legal advice by volunteer attorneys to un-represented litigants.
• In 2012, we began a pilot that extended the service to Staten Island using videoconferencing.
Credit: http://wikitravel.org/en/New_York_City
Previous 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
–Resources
• No dedicated space for VAP
• No dedicated personnel for the program in Staten Island
How the Remote VAP WorksThe idea: use technology to make VAP services available
• Use web-based communications technology to allow experienced volunteer attorneys in Manhattan to assist pro se litigants in other counties
• Use scanning and remote IP printing to deliver documents from litigants to volunteers and vice versa
Project Requirements• Computer stations in Manhattan and target counties equipped with video conferencing software, cameras, microphones, speakers, printers, and scanners
• Secure, stable lines of communication
•Trained person to screen litigants and experienced family law attorney to supervise/mentor volunteers
The Process• Screener conducts intake with litigant in Richmond intake room
• Screener escorts litigant to consultation room. Volunteer in Manhattan counsels litigant via video call
• If volunteer has a question, mutes video call and telephones mentor/supervisor
• Volunteer returns to video call, finishes consultation
• Volunteer prints any documents litigant needs to IP printer in target county
Current Status•Expanding to service locations beyond New York City
–The program is in the process of expanding to multiple counties upstate
Contributors to Success
• Staff conducting the pilot in NYC very experienced and enthusiastic – good environment for volunteers
• Every county has dedicated IT personnel who are able/willing to make the technology work seamlessly
• Workflow has been simplified as much as possible with step-by-step instructions for volunteers
• Extensive efforts to create buy-in from local court administrations and bar associations
Challenges
• Upstate/downstate divide: initial reluctance and assumption that “they don’t understand”
• New and different staffing models required based on circumstances of individual counties
• Navigating administrative and political concerns to maintain positive experience for volunteers/litigants
Thank you for your time!
For questions or comments, please feel free to contact:
Adam Friedl
Pro Bono Coordinator
The NYC ConsumerDebt Defense Project
Carolyn CoffeySupervising Attorney
Consumer Rights Project,MFY Legal Services
Consumer Debt• In 2011, 42% of overall debt collection
lawsuits resulted in default judgments – but debt buyers obtained default judgments in an estimated 62% of their cases
95% of people with default judgments reside in low- or moderate-income neighborhoods
•
Only 2% of people sued by debt buyers in NYC are represented by
counsel
Only 10% of people suedanswered the summons
and complaint
The Pro Bono Response
• CLARO (Civil Legal Advice and Resource Office)
• Weekly, walk-in clinics held in courthouses
• Litigants receive advice about their case and assistance preparing some documents
• Staffed by experienced experts, pro bono attorneys, and trained law students
• Very successful — and very popular
Challenges of this Model
• Clinics overflowing with litigants
• Significant learning curve for pro bono lawyers and students
• Some essential responsive documents too complex to be drafted during brief services (especially MSJs)
Document Assembly Resources for Pro Se Litigants
• Motion to Vacate a Default Judgment
•••
Debt Verification Letter
Answer
Demand for Documents
Document Assembly Resources for Advocates
Why?
••
Efficiency for advocates
Support for volunteers
• Clinics – CLARO
• Attorney for the Day Programs
• Legal services attorneys
Document Assembly Resources for Advocates
One Template, ManyDocuments
Built-in Contextual Information
Editable Word Document
Sample Response to aMotion for Summary
Judgment
• Created in minutes, as opposed to hours
Benefits and Factors of Success
• Clinic volunteers can now serve clients more quickly, and thus serve more clients
• Less experienced volunteers now have expert guidance just by walking through the interview
• Most clinic supervisors are strong supporters of technological innovation
• New volunteers being trained in tech methods from the beginning
Challenges and Considerations
• Some personnel are very comfortable with previous “by hand” methods and adjustments they had made
• Learning curve of using the software
• As tech use expands, adapting to procedural idiosyncrasies of new locations
For More Information
Contact: Carolyn Coffey — [email protected]
NYC Consumer Debt Defense Projecthttp://www.probono.net/ny/consumer/
CLARO website:http://www.claronyc.org/claronyc/default.html
Mobile and Remote Innovations to Support Pro Bono Engagement
Liz KeithLawHelp Program Manager
Pro Bono Net
MN “Pro Bono to Go” Project Overview
• 2013 TIG to Legal Aid Services of Northeastern Minnesota • Partners: Legal Services State Support, MSBA &
Pro Bono Net • Goal: Create a mobile version of ProJusticeMN.org
featuring mobile-optimized settlement checklists and client interview guides
Why mobile checklists? • Settlement opportunities can arise
unexpectedly, often at court• Good settlements can have
tremendous benefits to the client• But settlements have benefits and
pitfalls that an inexperienced attorney might overlook
• Checklists can help with issue-spotting and make volunteers more confident taking cases outside their area
Why mobile interview guides?
• Walk-in clinics are a staple of volunteer attorney work
• Standardized interview guides can help practitioners get better and more complete information from clients – and provide better advice as a result
• The guides can also speed up issue-spotting, making sessions more efficient
Other uses of mobile• Mobile apps to connect attorneys with information about
volunteering and practice resources• Illinois Legal Aid Online, Arkansas Legal Services
Partnership, Public Counsel (LA) • Screening resource for non-legal volunteers
• R3 Domestic Violence Screening app (Recognize, Respond and Refer)
• Bay Area medical-legal partnership created an app to help social workers and nurses screen clients for legal issues
• Your ideas?
Remote services pro bono models
• Virtual legal clinic and lawyer in the library programs
• Pro Bono Project of Silicon Valley Virtual Legal Services clinics
• Remote document review from court-based self-help centers
• LiveHelp / live chat • Asynchronous online advice
platforms • e.g. OnlineTNJustice.org
Where is LiveHelp / live chat being used with law student and
private attorney volunteers?
Blue = Live projects staffed by legal aid staff, Americorps*VISTA volunteers, and librariansGreen = Live projects using volunteersYellow = Projects in development that will use volunteers
What kind of assistance are volunteers providing?
• Information-finding and referral assistance (all)• Help finding & using online self-help forms (MT, KS,
AR, OK, TX)• Help applying for services online (UT)• Individualized legal assistance after screening (TX)• Bilingual Spanish assistance (NY, IL) • Court self-help services (MD)• Pro bono counsel & advice (OH – 2014)
Considerations for using volunteers in LiveHelp
• Anytime/anywhere option is attractive• Volunteers who participated in LiveHelp • Does your program have online content (FAQs, instructions,
referral info) that volunteers can lean on?• LiveHelp system content and admin tools can help with
support and supervision • Use of volunteers requires a greater investment in staff
supervisor time• Need a system for back-channel support (e.g. Google chat)
What does the (not so distant) future hold?• More sophisticated & tailored case
marketing and matching • Auto-generated personalized
referral packets for volunteers (drawing on statewide website content & automated forms)
• Virtual law office platforms with secure client and volunteer portals (e.g. RocketLawyer) to provide unbundled or full services
• Your ideas?
For More Information
LiveHelp:•Contact: Liz Keith, [email protected] or
Xander Karsten, [email protected]
LawHelp Interactive:•Contact: Mirenda Watkins,
[email protected] or Claudia Johnson, [email protected]
THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING TODAY!
Next up by PBN: Beyond Online Intake: Looking at Triage
and Expert SystemsDecember 4, 2013 More information at
www.lsntap.org
Contact Information
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