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.

Reblogged from Richard Zorza's Access to Justice Blog:

Reblogged from ABA Center for Pro Bono Exchange:

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.

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.

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.
__________________
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.

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.