brief services in the 21 st century

Brief Services in the 21st Century

National Technology Assistance Projectwww.lsntap.org

July 27, 2007

Presenters

Gabrielle Hammond – LSNTAP

Carol Garner – Law Access New Mexico

Rachel Medina – A2J Authoring Tool

Eve Ricaurte – Iowa Legal Aid

Hugh Calkins – Pine Tree Legal Assistance

Our focus today

• Review specific technologies that are reinventing client services.

• A look at programs pushing the envelope

Brief Services: Then

LSC Definition - The B Code

Cases that require limited representation, usually defined by a retainer agreement signed between advocate and client.

"Brief Services" defines the scope of service AND is typically limited to cases that meet the case acceptance protocol

Brief Services: Future

Person may or may not access a legal aid service delivery system.

Person receives limited assistance through online mechanisms: interactive forms, website chat, or other web services.

Brief Services: Now

In the middleBrief Service Units: Extension of hotlines --

organizing method of how brief services can be afforded to more persons once a person enters the delivery system (consolidation of clinics and assisted pro se services).

Pro Se Online Services that Integrate with Courts and Legal Aid Services.

What’s Changed?

• 49% of persons with HH income < $30,000 are online.

• Aging of the Internet: Who uses it more? 18 - 29 year olds are neck-and-neck with 30 - 49 year old counterparts. (83% online)

What’s Changed?

• Use of Internet for News: The proportion of adults who used the Internet to find info on “news, weather or sports” increased from 7% in 1997 to 40% in 2003.

• Health: 46% of online seniors sought answers to their health questions online in March 2000. In June 2002, 74% did.

What’s Changed?: TEENS

Teenagers: A Look to Your Next Gen• 75% are online.• 84% own at least one: computer, cell phone,

PDA; 44% have two.• 33% use cell phones for text messaging• 75% of online teens use IM, and they use IM to

share links (50%), photos or documents (45%), music or audio files (31%)

• 55% have profiles on one or more social networking sites

What’s Changed?: YouTube

• 52% of HH income < $30k watch or download online videos

• Of all video consumers, 39% do so on dial up.

• 57% of online video viewers share it with someone else.

• 20% rate them.

• Top three topics watched: News (37%), Comedy (31%), and Education (22%)

What’s Changed?: Customization

• Technology can personalize the web for you (RSS).

• Amazon.Com recommends books for you to read if you buy or search for one. You can look at reader reviews.

• Illinois’ Pro Bono statewide website recommends cases to pro bono attorneys based on their touring of site.

• Could your site recommend information to clients trying to find legal help or fill out forms?

What’s Possible?

• Reinvention of how we reach and how many.

• Accountability to usability (it’s rated!)

• Support by a larger human infrastructure you can’t control.

What’s Possible?• Online interactive forms that help clients complete letters

and court form.• Web chat (IM) to resolve questions.• Community educational videos that are shared and rated.• Community chat rooms where people help people find

answers and share experiences.• Remote intake or brief services that use online systems

for support.• Advocates who actively use and create these online tools

as part of their work, not separate from it.• A Brief Services Unit to provide guided assistance for

assisted pro se.• Hotlines that evolve to support cell phone users with text

and online services instead of long holds.

Examples In Action

A Brief Services Unit:

The Law Access New Mexico Experience

Law Access’s Brief Services Unit

• One Goal: Increase the Number of Full Representation Cases

• Strategy: Make the Helpline the primary provider of advice and some brief services to "free up" New Mexico Legal Aid (NMLA).

Staffing the Unit | Hotline

• 4 Full Time Attorneys - 2 unit supervisors covering the major substantive law areas;

• 7 part time helpline attys and 1 part time paralegal (hiring 3 additional attorneys).Hiring 3 intake screeners

• 1 Full time director.

Service Area Stats

• New Mexico is 5th largest (geographic size) state in the US.

• The population is very poor - ranks next to Mississippi. We assist up to 200% of federal poverty guidelines = about 1/3 of all NM residents.

• 1/3 of the NM population lives in Albuquerque. • 40% of the population in New Mexico is

Hispanic. 4 staff assist Spanish speaking clients. • We get a substantial number of deaf/hard of

hearing clients via Relay.

Targeting Services

• 2/3 from rural areas.

We targeted 15 very rural counties for Helpline outreach this year chosen because both Law Access and NMLA saw very few clients from these counties the previous year. Many of the counties that we visited are the poorest counties and have 15 or fewer attorneys in the whole county - some have zero - thus the Helpline is truly their only resource.

Routing Cases & Criteria

• Route cases to every major legal services program in NM (includes New Mexico Legal Aid - about 10 offices, DNA - 3 offices, other programs = about 10 total with various specialties - elder, disabled, VAWA immigration etc.)

• Priority for Brief Services: assist on cases where legal aid generally does not. Varies by geographic region throughout the state.

Technology for a Brief Service Unit

• Case Management System

• Document Assembly

• Electronic Files

• Statewide Website and other online resources

• Telephone Technology

• Scanners

Innovations to Aid Brief Service

• Not all programs and states have a Brief Service unit (or program focused on Brief Services).

• Many programs are utilizing new technologies to:– Improve volunteer assistance to clients– Provide assisted pro se– Provide service traditionally thought of as

“Brief Service”

Examples in Action

Interactive Forms:

A Look at Idaho & Iowa

Interactive Forms

• Also known as Document Assembly. Uses software, like HotDocs or I-CAN!, to generate an automated interview that helps complete court forms. Can use another interface, like A2J, to make it user friendly to clients.

• Think TurboTax for legal forms.

Note about Terms• HotDocs is one software that creates templates.• A2J is an interface that lays on top of it to make it

easier to use. • I-CAN! Is another software to create templates. Ease-

of-use is built-in. • A national community of template developers can

share in the developing and host these templates on a national server. NPADO. Find out More: http://lsntap.org/techlibrary (Click on Document Assembly)

• Some programs use PDF or Word fillable forms instead.

A2J Author: Document assembly front-end and more

• Document Assembly

Petition for a Protection Order

Petition for a Protection Order

• Website Guide

What’s the next step?

Where do I go?Who do I need to

contact?

A2J Author: Document assembly front-end and more

A2J Guided Interview for Intake (.a2j files)

• Case Management System Data Collection

Interview Answers

(.anxFile)

XSLTransform

Transformed Answer Files

Case Management System

Answer File Data Now Available For Review in the Case Management

System….….conflicts check….attorney review

….processing

A2J Author: Document assembly front-end and more

Video: Coming Soon

A2J Author: Document assembly front-end and more

A2J Author

States with A2J Author Guided Interviews

(according to recent NPADO server statistics)

Alabama, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland,

Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas,

U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Washington,

Ontario (Canada)

Other Registered Users of A2J Author

Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah,

Wyoming

Chicago-Kent College of Law / Student Editorial Board Projects

Ventura County, California (various interviews in process)

Illinois Legal Aid Online(multiple interviews, either live or in development)

Document Assembly and E-Filing System Projects

U.S. District Courts, Eastern Missouri

Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Florida

(pilot project for the state of Florida)

Intake Interview/Case Management Database Projects

Iowa Legal Aid

A2J in Use: Idaho Legal Aid

• 144 HotDocs templates and authored 21 A2J guided interviews.

• 3 Spanish A2J guided interviews linked to 17 of the automated court forms with Spanish instructions.

Courts: A Critical Partner

• Partnered and built relationships with all of the 44 county Court Assistance Offices.

• 4 in-person statewide trainings to further help them understand how the interviews work, how to effectively assist users, show new features of the A2J interface and hold open discussions for feedback.

Feedback

• A large number of surveys from users handful of the Magistrate Judges, Court Assistance Officers/Clerks, ILAS staff and conducted two in-person interviews with our closest partnering advocacy organizations.

• Approximately 60 comments from users via the “send feedback” feature on NPADO.

Response from the Judiciary

Were pro se litigants were generally more prepared about what to expect in the courtroom and representing themselves?

8 out of 9 judges felt litigants were more prepared.

More than half of the judges responding also felt pro se litigants generally provide forms that are more accurate and complete when using the interactive court forms.

Response from the Judiciary

Negative:

Reflected some judges continued bias against all pro se activity – and did not truly reflect a bias against the forms or A2J process.

Court Personnel and Legal Aid Staff

How the project has helped overall with efficiency and effectiveness in assisting pro se litigants?

• Vastly helps! This is far superior to the fill in the blank manual

forms. First rate product, clean and foolproof! • I believe this is an essential tool to the CAO program. Usually

upon an initial visit if you explain the reasons for registering, saving, and property issues if it's a divorce, the parties are readily able to complete the process with little added assistance.

• I think it has greatly improved pro se litigants understanding of how to proceed and what forms should look like.

• I think it has greatly increased access to the courts for pro se litigants and has freed up legal aid attorney time to work on cases that are impractical for clients to do pro se.

Iowa’s Remote Intake Project

Eve Ricaurte

Pro Se Coordinator, Iowa Legal Aid

Goals of the Project

• To direct people to Iowa Legal Aid’s online resources for answers to questions where only information is needed

• To divert those with problems not handled by Iowa Legal Aid to other sources of help

• To allow potential clients to complete an application online from remote sites

Iowa Legal Aid’s Remote Intake Project

• A pilot project funded by an LSC Technology (TIG) grant

• The Remote Intake project started as part of major technology upgrade including addition of the LawHelp website and formation of a unified intake system.

• The idea was to help ease the load of the intake hotline.

Iowa Legal Aid Self Help Center

http://www.iowalegalaid.org/intake/

• This is a password protected program page on Iowa’s LawHelp website

• First a video shows users how to navigate the website to find information

• The design encourages the user to first look at information on the LawHelp site

• The second video explains the online intake process and at the end of that video the user arrives at the intake interview

A2J Interviewhttps://npado.org/A2JViewer/ilaintake.html

• A new use for A2J, no documents involved

• Questions take the user through types of cases and eligibility issues that would not result in intake if at a legal aid office on the phone

• Those who cannot be served are directed to other agency websites

• Help with the interview is offered through the LiveHelp chat feature

• Income eligibility is determined before personal information is gathered

• If the person does not have a the type of case Iowa Legal Aid can accept, or does not financially qualify, none of the information is saved

• If the applicant completes the application it is sent to the case management system, Pika

• It will reside in a separate database until conflicts are cleared

Issues & Lessons Learned

• The biggest hurdle has been the programming of the A2J variables to work with the Pika case management system

• A2J output is designed for HotDocs and is not in LS-XML format

• Once all issues are resolved, the interview will be available for other programs

• LiveHelp is available now

Examples In Action

Maine’s Problem Solving with Technology

Maine’s Technology Solutionsfor Brief Services / Pro Se

• Extensive online client education materials

• Online fillable forms (PDF)

• Online Food Stamps calculator

• New online intake system that ties into case management

Brief Services in Maine

• Volunteer Lawyers Project acts similar to a hotline.– Refers callers to website materials– Mails education materials forms– Provides brief service – (utilizing online forms)– Offers family law helpline once a week

Online Client Education Materials

• In 2006: – 809,412 client ed page views– html & pdf (far more html)– Housing & Family most popular

• Serve as triage – both for hotline callers and direct website users.

• Utilized by staff and agencies serving clients.

Online Forms

• Heavily used fillable PDF forms– First posted 1997– In 2006, 352,970 form downloads– ¾ family law forms– The more complex, the more popular

• Used by pro se litigants, advocates and attorneys (legal services and private practice).

• http://www.ptla.org/ptlasite/cliented/benefits/estimator.htm

Online Food Stamps Calculator

• Powered by HotDocs

• Interview to determine whether and how much a person is eligible for in food stamps.

• Used directly by clients, agencies serving low-income and legal service staff working with clients.

• http://www.ptla.org/ptlasite/cliented/benefits/estimator.htm

Online Food Stamps Calculator

• More than 1,200 interviews conducted and 1,100 documents assembled in first 6 months this year.

• Food stamp calculator has proven very effective.

Wave of the Future

This brief service use of Interactive Forms (HotDocs)

– gathers specific information about a client’s situation– applies the law to those facts– and gives a response relevant to that individual client.

We could be doing this in many other situations.

Online Intake and Electronic Case Transfer Systems

• Online intake opens up additional ways to do intake– Clients can apply for services via the web site– Remote intake workers can use online intake

systems to do intake when direct access to the CMS isn't practical

• Electronic case transfer systems eliminate the need to re-enter information and makes referring cases to partner organizations easier

Maine's Online Intake Project

• The problem: Intake volunteers have a difficult time working with the Volunteer Lawyers Project's case management system. Intake volunteers do intake almost entirely in paper and VLP staff retypes the information into the CMS.

Maine's Online Intake Project

• The solution: Creating Flash-based forms for volunteers to enter information that utilize interview-like screens for both basic intake and also for various substantive topics. These can be imported easily into the Case Mgmt System.

Maine VLP Intake Project

• Volunteers (and clients, through a copy on the VLP website) can fill out the Flash application and submit the data to the VLP web site.

• When submitted, a file is created and VLP staff can import the file directly into their CMS without any re-typing. (XML is programming language that allows easy transferability of documents, regardless of platform.)

Maine VLP Intake Project

• Links:– Basic Intake: http://vlp.

org/xforms/flash/primary– Divorce: http://www.gwendelyndaniels.

com/vlp/divorce.html– Web Administration: http://vlp.

org/xforms/flash/intakeList

Questions?

Where to find this information…

www.LSNTAP.orgDirect link: http://www.LSNTAP.org/ed104

Envisioning & Discussion

Appendix

What is Document Assembly?

• The automated completion of a form or standard document.• Special software is used to point out where content changes

in the form. For example, a name or the number of children that a couple has.

• To complete the form, users answer questions, and the answers are automatically placed in the document in one or more places.

• Answers can be saved to use again for current and future documents.

National Document Assembly Project (NPADO Project)

• Developed to enable use of online document assembly by legal aid programs, self-represented litigants, and pro bono attorneys.

• Funded by TIG and the State Justice Institute and managed by Pro Bono Net.

• Donation of HotDocs Server and over 100 copies of HotDocs Professional by LexisNexis to jumpstart project.

NPADO Projects

HotDocs Document Assembly Templates

Create Word (or WordPerfect) Documents

NPADO Projects (cont.)Pro Se Templates in Use:Montana’s Dissolution & Parenting Plan

The Access to Justice (A2J) Author is a software tool that allows non-technical authors from the courts, clerk’s offices, legal service programs and website editors to build customer friendly interfaces to HotDocs document assembly templates.

A2J Interface

https://npado.org/template_info?template_id=template.2005-12-14.3196765823

NPADO Projects (cont.)

NPADO Project Services

Online and In-Person Training:• September 17 & 18, Chicago: Introduction to HotDocs• December, Online Training• Q1 2008, In Person: Two Tracks. Introduction to

HotDocs and Advanced HotDocs

NPADO Project Services (cont.)

Developer Support:• E-mail List. (Sign up at http://lists.lstech.org/index.

html/info/hotdocs)• LSNTAP LSTech Resource Center at http://www.lstech.

org/lilbookshelf?tid=49&name=Document%20Assembly• Regular developer meetings• NPADO Project Contributor Portal• E-mail and telephone support services for content

developers

NPADO Project Services (cont.)

Circuit Riding: • Responsible for facilitating legal aid and court document

assembly collaborations.

• Will assist the NPADO Project Coordinator with providing programmatic support to local partners.

• In the process of filling position.

NPADO Contact Information

• Want to learn more? Contact Kate Bladow, NPADO Project Coordinator, at kbladow@probono.net.