best practices in using technology to recruit and support pro bono lawyers matthew burnett pro bono...
TRANSCRIPT
Best Practices in Using Technology to Recruit and
Support Pro Bono Lawyers
Matthew BurnettPro Bono Net
Naceem NavidiLSNTAP
Outline
Why Technology and Pro Bono? Benefits to pro bono organizations Benefits to advocates Benefits to clients
Tools for Pro Bono Recruitment Statewide Advocate Websites Organizational Websites State and National Pro Bono Opportunities Guides Pro Bono Case Listings Email/E-Newsletters
Outline (cont.) Tools for Pro Bono Support
Online Libraries Listservs Webcasts Webinars Online Document Assembly
Tools for the Future LiveHelp Case Management Integration
Technology and Pro Bono in the Field Addressing Support for Rural Attorneys in Georgia
Questions/Contact Details
Why Technology and Pro Bono?
Technology benefits pro bono programs:
Encourages greater pro bono participation by offering meaningful support
Allows for rapid communication with pro bono volunteers
Connects volunteers and clients based on interests and needs
Builds a community of volunteers Helps to track program activities and outcomes Others?
Why Technology and Pro Bono?
Technology benefits pro bono lawyers:
24/7 access to resources for busy advocates Easily communicate with substantive experts and
other advocates who have taken similar cases Choose cases that are within their interest and skill
level Others?
Why Technology and Pro Bono?
Technology benefits clients:
Greater resources and increased efficiencies, which can result in higher quality legal services to an increased number of clients
Bridges physical and geographical barriers, which allows for increased services to rural and other underserved clients and communities (disabled, limited English proficiency, etc.)
Others?
Tools for Pro Bono Recruitment
Statewide Advocate Websites Online tools
Calendar (pro bono trainings and events) News (pro bono awards and newsletters) Library (training manuals, sample briefs) New Cases (case summaries) Pro Bono Opportunities Guides (program information)
FloridaProBono.org
Arkansas Pro Bono Partnership
NYC Pro Bono Center
Tools for Pro Bono Recruitment
Organizational Websites Web-based content management Display information about your pro bono program:
Highlight areas of practice Share success stories Provide contact information Accept donations Post other organizational information such as your
board of directors and funders
Volunteers of Legal Service
Tools for Pro Bono Recruitment
State and National Pro Bono Opportunities Guides Allows advocates to search for pro bono
organizations (i.e. by location, interest, population served, and keywords).
Many state and local bar websites have pro bono guides with varying degrees of interactivity.
Washington State Pro Bono Guide
OhioProBono.org
National Opportunities Guide
A joint initiative between the ABA and Pro Bono Net A comprehensive list of pro bono organizations in the
United States Searchable by state, county, area of law, population
served, etc. Users can add an organization and provide comments on
exiting data, which is then reviewed and approved by a statewide admin
National Pro Bono Opportunities Guide
Pro Bono Case Listings
List case summaries by substantive area or location
Provides organization and contact information
Bay Area Case Listings
Georgia Case Listings
Email/E-Newsletters
Build a sense of community among your pro bono advocates
Include volunteer profiles to encourage participation
Update advocates about upcoming trainings and new resources
NYC Pro Bono Center Newsletter
Arkansas Pro Bono Partnership E-Newsletter
Minnesota E-Calendar
Tools for Pro Bono Support
Online Libraries Password protected libraries for posting
resources: training manuals practice guides sample pleadings and briefs forms
PAProBono.net Resource Library
Georgia Online Law Library
“Smart” Websites
Smart websites are those that take user data and automatically deliver relevant information back to the user to create a user-centric web page
Very common in commercial websites like Amazon.com, Netflix, Google News
Multiple ways to gather user data: automatically through clicks, through user profiles, or through user tags.
IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org
Recommended content looks at pieces of contents the user has looked at and recommends similar content based on what other users looked at and on the national index problem codes
My Program Space returns news, events, jobs, and volunteer opportunities tied to the user's organization
IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org (cont.)
IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org (cont.)
IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org (cont.)
Listservs
Keep pro bono advocates up-to-date and provide technical support on cases.
Encourage volunteers to join existing substantive listservs in your state.
Texas Lawyer’s Help Listservs
Webcasts
Tool to provide technical support to pro bono advocates, particularly when they are supplemented by other training materials.
A “window” to new areas of practice to increase volunteer interest
Don’t require advocates to travel to trainings Can be watched at any time or multiple times
Prisoners’ Rights Webcast
NYC Pro Bono Center Webcast Archive
Webinars Online seminars, which require only that participants
call a conference call number and click on a link that initiates a web-based application.
Products such as GotoMeeting are reasonably priced for smaller groups (up to 25 participants). https://www.gotomeeting.com
Larger sessions can be facilitated using GotoWebinar. https://www.gotowebinar.com
Both allow you to share materials with your pro bono advocates on their PC, as well as to field questions on the spot. You can also give participants the ability to share their PC (i.e. to review documents).
Online Document Assembly/NPADO
The NPADO Project is a document assembly project that hosts interactive forms for the nonprofit legal aid and access-to-justice community and assembles professional-looking legal documents based on a user’s input.
States can develop templates to provide automated document assembly in an efficient, cost-effective manner to assist pro bono advocates in representing their clients.
For more information, contact Kate Bladow, NPADO Project Coordinator at [email protected]
Georgia HotDocs Library
Tools For the Future
LiveHelp: Online remote technical assistance for pro bono advocates. To be piloted in Georgia in 2007.
Case Management Integration: Automatically integrates self-help and advocate resource materials (sample briefs, pleadings, forms, etc.) into case management software based on a client’s legal problem. To be piloted in Georgia and Kentucky in 2007.
LiveHelp
Technology and Pro Bono in the Field
Mike Monahan, Pro Bono Director, Georgia Legal Services Program
Questions/Contact Information
Questions?
Contact Details: Matthew Burnett
[email protected] Naceem Navidi
[email protected] Mike Monahan