Providing pro bono legal assistance to homeless veterans

Today, I’m at the Pro Bono Institute Conference in DC, then heading home. Yesterday’s session on tech went quite well.

In the veterans law pro bono session yesterday, the consensus among the law firms and corporate counsel programs was that no one had a handle on pro bono legal assistance for the homeless vet– that we needed some national gathering on the subject. This morning, by grand coincidence, I struck up a conversation with a doctor at breakfast who happens to be here in DC for the national Health Care for the Homeless conference.

I have a new inspiration– for somebody– not me (too much to do now): forming local medical-legal partnerships with affiliates of the National Health Care for the Homeless Program. NHCHC has a network of programs who have expertise in reaching out to the homeless, including homeless veterans.  We should also reach out to the Health Care for the Homeless Conference organizers to see about conference cross-pollenization on legal issues affecting homeless veterans.  We need to learn about how they deliver their services and apply the lessons our work to provide critical legal assistance.

Self-Represented Litigation Network Plans Equal Justice Conference Pre-Conference

Reblogged from Richard Zorza's Access to Justice Blog:

Once again this coming year, the Self-Represented Litigation Network will be hosting a pre-conference in association with the NLADA/ABA Equal Justice Conference.  The pre-conference will be May 8, 2013, and the main conference will be May 9-11.  As usual, there will be an Access to Justice Commissions gathering on Saturday the 11th.

Here is the overall "save the date."

Save the Date_EJC2013…

Read more… 26 more words

Mandatory Pro Bono for Admission: the Domino Effect?

Reblogged from ABA Center for Pro Bono Exchange:

The New Jersey Law Journal reported late last week that New Jersey is considering implementing a mandatory pro bono requirement for admission to the New Jersey Bar. Chief Justice Rabner and the New Jersey Supreme Court have requested an evaluation of New York's recently released rule requiring all admission seekers to complete at least 50 hours of pro bono service before they can be admitted to the bar.

Read more… 229 more words

I’m a fan of Twitter

I’m a fan of Twitter.  That’s a lot like saying, “I like socks.”  But socks keep your feet warm and reduce irritation.  Socks also say something about you.  And socks are here to stay.

I created a brief presentation about Twitter for people with whom I work.  Twitter is great for promoting pro bono.

If only Twitter could help me follow my socks on laundry day.  Life would be sweeter.

Mercer Law School, Macon Bar and Jones Cork host benefit concert for Georgia Legal Services Program

On Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 the Mercer University School of Law and the Macon Bar Association will stage a concert at the Cox Capitol Theater in Macon to benefit the Macon Regional Office of the Georgia Legal Services Program.  The bands SUE ‘N’ THE BASTARDS and THE DEACONS OF DISASTER will take the stage.  Doors open at 6 p.m..  The show begins at 7 p.m..  Admission is: $50.00/Attorney $25.00/Supporter $10.00/Student (with ID Available at the Door) .  Attorney and Individual Tickets are available.  To purchase tickets click here.

Mobile tech grants in the legal aid community

I’m pleased that Richard Zorza‘s recent blog article included a couple of technology projects with which I will be involved over the next two years.

In an article he posted today entitled, “LSC TIG Grants Announced — The Year of Mobile and Beyond,” Richard summed up a number of mobile technology projects and exhorted us all to think beyond converting existing content.  Read Richard’s full article here.

During National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Use Georgia Online Resources to Help Stop the Cycle of Violence

Site Offer Referrals, Information, Self-help Tools for Survivors and Resources for Advocates

Atlanta, GA – October 1, 2012    One in four women and one in thirteen men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. As National Domestic Violence Awareness Month begins this October, Georgians who need to know about resources for domestic violence survivors can turn to  GeorgiaLegalAid.org, part of the national LawHelp.org network of nonprofit legal information portals that empower individuals to help themselves.  Lawyers can beef up their pro bono service using resources from GeorgiaAdvocates.org.

Visitors to GeorgiaLegalAid.org will find easy-to-understand information about what constitutes domestic violence; orders of protection; issues related to housing rights, public benefits and children; and the needs of special populations such as immigrants.  GeorgiaLegalAid.org also provides referrals to local legal aid organizations that can help.  Many of these self-help and information resources are available in Spanish.

GeorgiaLegalAid.org was recently relaunched with a new design, making it even easier to navigate.

GeorgiaLegalAid.org allows survivorss and advocates to quickly and easily find and fill out needed documents, for example, a court form to obtain an order of protection.

GeorgiaLegalAid.org  is Georgia’s online source of free legal aid referrals, know-your-rights information and a variety of self-help tools.  The site is maintained by the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and the Georgia Legal Services Program, in conjunction with Pro Bono Net, a nonprofit leader in increasing access to justice for the disadvantaged.  GeorgiaLegalAid.org, formerly known as LegalAid-GA.org was launched in 2001 and now serves more than a million views a year.  LawHelp.org was developed with support from the Legal Services Corporation.

“Victims of domestic violence may not know where to turn for critically needed legal assistance and, in many cases, cannot afford to hire an attorney,” said Liz Keith, LawHelp Program Manager at Pro Bono Net.  “LawHelp can easily be accessed from anywhere, for example at a computer at a public library, to find referrals for free legal services, information about legal rights and, often, free online forms and other tools for self-help.”

About Atlanta Legal Aid Society
The Atlanta Legal Aid Society has represented Atlanta’s poor in civil legal cases since 1924. Our work helps our clients deal with some of life’s most basic needs — a safe home, enough food to eat, a decent education, protection against fraud, and personal safety.  Our clients come from Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett Counties in Georgia.

About Georgia Legal Services Program, Inc.®
The mission of the Georgia Legal Services Program is to provide access to justice and opportunities out of poverty for Georgians with low-incomes. Our lawyers and paralegals provide the help that reflects your community’s values of fairness, equality, and responsibility to assist others in need.
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About Pro Bono Net
Pro Bono Net is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing access to justice through innovative uses of technology and increased volunteer lawyer participation.  Pro Bono Net uses innovative web-based platforms—www.probono.net, http://www.lawhelp.org and http://www.lawhelpinteractive.org —to recruit and support volunteer lawyers and provide direct information and tools for self representation to low-income communities.   Pro Bono Net has also developed Pro Bono Manager, pro bono practice management software that helps AmLaw 200 law firms increase pro bono participation, manage pro bono caseloads more efficiently and raise internal and external awareness of pro bono efforts.  For more information, please visit http://www.probono.net.

A funder talks to other funders about civil legal services- watch the video

The Public Welfare Foundation has been making important grants in the area of access to civil justice.  Mary McClymont, PWF President, has also been making a major effort to talk to her foundation colleagues about the importance of supporting civil legal aid. She was interviewed recently by Tamara Lucas Copeland, president of Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers, about the needs of low-income people and what private funders can do to help. This video, aimed at the funder community, is available on the PWF’s website, www.publicwelfare.org . It’s also found on YouTube here. McClymont urges funders to consider supporting legal aid as part of their grantmaking strategy in substantive areas.  She points out that such funding is “a great strategy” to enhance, leverage, and sustain investments other areas, such as housing or education.

ABA Blogs on Technology Information and Discounts

In the nonprofit legal aid and pro bono community we are always cautious about spending and getting the most bang for the buck.  The American Bar Association Center for Pro Bono recently covered tech discounts in its blog.  Check it out.

Pro Bono in Georgia Gone Mobile: An Update

In December 2011, I adopted the Mobilezen.com platform for a mobile website and app for pro bono state support activities.  Others around me were investing large sums in developing apps to support pro bono lawyers and to deliver information about pro bono.  I was interested in learning more about mobile sites and apps before jumping off into app development by first using an affordable, easy-to-set-up site.

Lawyers can learn about pro bono in Georgia by texting “probono” to 99699 on their smartphone or by visiting http://mobilezen.com/probono.  I set up the mobile site to offer the basics:  a volunteer pledge form, links to resource training materials, and a statewide training calendar.

Lawyers don’t know that I have this texting tool for their use, so I have to tell them.  I have used less than a handful of methods to spread the word about the texting site:

• I have inserted a one sentence instruction in my email signature;
• I have tweeted information about the text service 4 times;
• I have inserted the information into a new program website that launched last month.

Even with the minimal PR I have used to advertise the textsite, I have been averaging about 5 text requests each month and 75 textsite views each month.  So I have served up to about 80 users per month.

I have not been extremely thoughtful about ways to increase awareness of the textsite, although Mobilezen.com does offer tips.  I have not formulated a method to track what the users access through the mobile site links.  I can report anecdotally that specific requests from lawyers for information about pro bono have increased to an alias email address I placed on the mobile site to about 3 inquiries each week.  Given the monthly usage rate of the site, I believe the email link usage represents a good rate of “further inquiry” after use of the app.

I do think the service is valuable on at least two fronts: I am thinking more seriously about what potential volunteer lawyers may be looking for in terms of support because I see that lawyers are indeed using the tool; and I can say that I am very inclined to develop a more sophisticated mobile approach that helps me deliver and track resources because I am now curious about what links they are using on the mobile site.

I plan to do four things to increase awareness of, and traffic to, the pro bono mobile site I am currently using:

• I will include information on the texting service in the next State Bar of Georgia E-News mail;
• I will ask that local pro bono coordinators and staff attorneys consider adding it to their email signatures and to local voluntary bar presentations;
• I will submit an article on the project to the next State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division Newsletter;
• I will add it to the pro bono page on the State bar’s website.

While I work to increase traffic to the mobile site, I will set up a new “collector” for the online pledge form survey that is unique to the mobile site so I can track online pledge form returns back to the mobile site.

So, that’s my update on my mobile app for pro bono.  I’ll keep learning and tweaking.  Thanks to Mobilezen.com for a useful, affordable and helpful texting service.

Want to learn more about pro bono in Georgia?  Text “probono” to 99699.

Where the Lawyers Are, 2012

Most people think we have too many lawyers.  In reality, we have a lawyer shortage, at least in many parts of Georgia.

Here’s a list (Link Below) of where the lawyers are/are not in Georgia and select poverty percentages by county.  Most of the counties lacking in lawyers have high poverty rates (counties in red and yellow).  Three of the five metro counties (in green) have high lawyer concentrations and poverty population percentages lower than the state average of 15.7%.  These are also the metro counties that enjoy the filing fee add-on for legal services because they have high populations that trigger the court filing fee add-on funding.  In the other 155 or so of Georgia’s counties, there is no add-on to court filing fees to raise funds for pro bono and legal aid.

In the absence of other resources for legal aid and pro bono– like filing fees, scarce rural lawyers are called upon to handle pro bono cases at a rate far beyond that of their large city counterparts.

Lawyer Demographics 2012 May

Our client self-help and information site redesigned!

GeorgiaLegalAid.org is now the improved and relaunched statewide resource for those facing civil legal issues. Its more user-friendly design and upgraded features will make it easier than ever to find information and assistance on legal issues.

Formerly LegalAid-GA.org, the new website is part of the national LawHelp.org network of nonprofit legal information sites that enable individuals to find legal information, locate a lawyer and when necessary, help themselves.

 

The site also boasts a Spanish-language counterpart, AyudaLegalGeorgia.org, to serve Georgians whose native language is Spanish.

 

GeorgiaLegalAid.org and AyudaLegalGeorgia.org are now Georgia’s online sources of free legal aid referrals, know-your-rights information and a variety of self-help tools.  GeorgiaLegalAid.org is maintained by the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Georgia Legal Services Program and the Pro Bono Project, in conjunction with Pro Bono Net, a nonprofit leader in increasing access to justice for the disadvantaged.

In addition to the updated design, GeorgiaLegalAid.org and AyudaLegalGeorgia.org, now feature a more powerful search function, easier-to-find resources and more accessible referral information.  The sites offer more efficient and effective assistance to those seeking help with problems in an array of areas such as housing, family law, consumer debt and immigration.

Many of the website’s resources are also available in languages other than English and Spanish, which can be accessed through new language-specific portal pages.

GeorgiaLegalAid.org and AyudaLegalGeorgia.org offer more video and audio content as well as organized information on court-based self-help centers and free legal forms packets.  The sites also incorporate links to legal aid programs, pro bono programs, and state and local bar associations so that users can find a lawyer to help them with their legal problem.

“I use this site every chance I have– and refer people in the community to the site– because of its really useful and easy to use content.  It’s especially helpful in bringing legal information to low-income and marginalized communities where people have a hard time finding a lawyer who works on issues unique to people like senior citizens, the poor, and people who are in the process of learning English,” says Terence Dicks, Executive Director of the Georgia Center for Children and Education and former chair of the Georgia Clients Council.

LegalAid-GA.org (now GeorgiaLegalAid.org) was launched in 2001 and now serves up more than 1 million page views each year.  LawHelp.org was redesigned with support from the Legal Services Corporation Technology Initiative Grant program