In recognition of Pro Bono Net’s 20th Anniversary, we are sharing highlights from our history as part of our “On This Day in PBN History” series. Throughout the year we will be sharing project launches, collaborations and other important milestones that Pro Bono Net has accomplished since its creation in 1999. To kick off the series we are sharing the launch of one of our most popular and important programs – LawHelpNY’s LiveHelp program.

LiveHelp on LawHelpNY.org

“Please keep this platform open and accessible to anyone in NY this has been very helpful.” – LiveHelp User

On this day in 2010 LawHelpNY announced the launch of a real-time, online chat service available in English and Spanish to help guide visitors to needed legal information and referrals. LiveHelp on LawHelpNY has since grown and is now available to visitors to CourtHelp’s Families and Children and Foreclosure pages as well as visitors to the Crime Victim Legal Help website. Monday to Friday 10:00 am – 1:00 pm visitors can be connected with staff at Legal Information for Families Today for family law issues. LiveHelp continues to be available Monday-Friday 9 am – 9 pm, and is also available on mobile devices.

Designed to help unrepresented New Yorkers with civil legal problems, LiveHelp connects those in need with online tools, resources, know-your-rights information and referrals available on LawHelpNY. Every year, millions of New Yorkers face serious civil legal problems – including domestic violence, family disputes, eviction, consumer debt and foreclosure – without legal representation. The Permanent Commission on Access to Justice estimates that approximately 1.8 million New Yorkers continue to navigate the state’s civil legal system without the help of an attorney. LiveHelp provides a place to start for those who need assistance and helps them navigate the resources and referrals available to them online. Each month, LiveHelp helps 900-1000 people find helpful legal information, online forms to prevent or address legal issues, and information about organizations that can help them further. 

The Volunteers

“This service made it much easier to get information I needed.” – LiveHelp User

The program is staffed primarily by volunteer law students and recent law graduates. These volunteers receive training on common civil legal problems that visitors to LiveHelp face including family law, housing, foreclosure, immigration  and assisting crime victims. They also receive a thorough introduction to all of the sites they will be responsible for guiding individuals to resources. Since the service is online, volunteers can staff the program from anywhere, including the comfort of their own home. Students and recent graduates are even able to receive credit toward their 50 hours of pro bono work requirement to take the Bar in the state of New York.

Expansion

“Excellent service, quick response, helpful information, provided exactly what I needed!” – LiveHelp User

In 2016, Pro Bono Net incorporated LawHelpNY into its core programs, and LiveHelp expanded onto additional sites for the first time. Initially only available on the Foreclosure pages of New York’s CourtHelp website, LiveHelp soon expanded to include all of the sites listed above. We are thrilled to highlight such a strong and influential program as our first “This Day in PBN History” highlight.

For 20 years Pro Bono Net has been a nonprofit leader in innovative programs that increase access to justice. Our comprehensive programs enable legal organizations to maximize their impact, increase pro bono involvement, and empower the public by providing legal assistance and information. Through innovative technology strategies, we create economies of scale, better integrate existing resources and services, and build capacity in the nonprofit legal sector. Each day, our programs help thousands of families stay in their homes, put young immigrants on a path to citizenship, ensure the safety of women and children, and enable volunteer lawyers across the country to make a difference.

 

LSC Innovations in Technology ConferenceThe 2019 Innovations in Technology Conference kicks off on Tuesday in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Conference brings together technologists, legal aid staff, courts, funders and others to explore innovative ways of using technology to promote full access to legal assistance for low-income individuals.

Pro Bono Net will be well-represented again this year, with a cadre of our program and technology staff in attendance. We’re also presenting in workshops covering topics ranging from the Legal Navigator initiative (www.simplifyinglegalhelp.org) to implicit bias in legal technology.

The Legal Services Corporation will be livestreaming select sessions throughout the conference including “Creating Inclusive Justice Ecosystems in Alaska and Hawaii: Developments in the Legal Navigator Initiative” with Pro Bono Net Executive Director, Mark O’Brien, and “Older Adults & Technology: The Changing Landscape of Access to Justice for Seniors” with Claudia Johnson. Claudia will also be providing an introduction to the panel “I Get Diversity but What is Inclusion: The Impact of Implicit Bias in Legal Tech” on Thursday, January 10th.

Prior to the main ITC conference, Pro Bono Net is offering two days of LawHelp Interactive Training on Monday and Tuesday to train advocates on how to develop interactive legal documents and court forms that increasing opportunities for those without an attorney to achieve justice.

In addition, Pro Bono Net and several of our partners are participating in a daylong pre-ITC workshop on January 7 hosted the Open Society Foundations focusing on legal empowerment and technology, along with OSF partners and grantees in South Africa, Ukraine, Moldova, and Mongolia. On January 8, Pro Bono Net is co-hosting a “Global Convening on Legal Empowerment and Technology” that includes a larger number of U.S. invitees and international representatives from the UK, Australia, South Africa, Moldova, Mongolia, and Ukraine. The purpose of the workshop and convening is to explore the current and potential role of technology in advancing legal empowerment strategies, with an emphasis on approaches to building legal capacity and agency within local communities.

Below is a schedule of ITCon panels and sessions with Pro Bono Net participating:

*This session will be livestreamed. To see all livestreaming sessions, view the full livestream schedule.

 

Monday, 8:00am – 5:00pm
LawHelp Interactive Training

 

Tuesday, 8:00am – 5:00pm
LawHelp Interactive Training

 

Wednesday, 10:30am
Resilient and Ready: Transforming Disaster Response through Technology and Network Building

  • Ariadna Godreau Aubert, Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico
  • Clarissa Ayala, Lone Star Legal Aid
  • Saundra J. Brown, Lone Star Legal Aid
  • Jeanne Ortiz-Ortiz, Pro Bono Net

Thursday, 8:45am
Older Adults & Technology: The Changing Landscape of Access to Justice for Seniors*

  • Sarah R Galvan, Justice in Aging/National Center on Law & Elder Rights
  • Claudia Johnson, Pro Bono Net
  • David Travis, Chautauqua County Family Court
  • Molly M. K. White, Center for Elder Law & Justice

Thursday, 10:30am
Made in NYC: Emerging Access to Justice Technology

  • Tim Baran, Pro Bono Net
  • Felicity Conrad, Paladin
  • Thomas Officer, Community.lawyer
  • Kristin Turner, Upsolve
  • Linda Tvrdy, DaisyDebt.org

Friday, 8:00am
LawHelp/probono.net Network Session: What’s New and What’s Next for 2019

  • Quisquella Addison, Pro Bono Net
  • Alex Clark, Montana Legal Services Association
  • Mike Grunenwald, Pro Bono Net
  • Laurie Rashidi-Yazd, Atlanta Legal Aid Society Inc.

Friday, 9:30am
Creating Inclusive Justice Ecosystems in Alaska and Hawaii: Developments in the Legal Navigator Initiative*

  • Sergio Alcubilla, Legal Aid Society of Hawaii
  • Lester Bird, The Pew Charitable Trusts
  • Mark O’Brien, Pro Bono Net
  • Stacey Marz, Alaska Court System
  • Glenn Rawdon, Legal Services Corporation

Friday, 11:15am
Connecting Clients to Access — Remotely Bringing Attorneys and Clients Together for Document Assembly

  • Craig Harrison, Utah Legal Services
  • Michael Hofrichter, Houston Volunteer Lawyers
  • Claudia Johnson, Pro Bono Net

Friday, 11:15am
Measuring Impact: An Analytics Framework for Civil Legal Nonprofits*

  • Tim Baran, Pro Bono Net
  • Maureen Jouhet, Illinois Legal Aid Online
  • Meaghan McDermott, Maryland Legal Aid

 

National Celebrate Pro Bono Pro Bono Net would like to recognize the thousands of volunteer lawyers who make a huge difference for those in need and the incredibly important work of pro bono volunteers in building our capacity to meet the vast unmet need for civil legal services. This year we have been celebrating National Pro Bono Week by focusing on disaster resiliency. Today we are highlighting additional pro bono work around the country, and sharing resources to help volunteer attorneys get started. 

Earlier this year, the separation of families at the boarder headlined news outlets everywhere. Now? Not so much. While headlines in the US may have moved on, many families are still separated and immigrant parents are still detained in more than 200 immigrant prisons and jails in the U.S.

According to recent numbers, more than 4,000 parents and children were separated at the US-Mexico border between May 5, 2018 and June 9, 2018 as part of earlier “no tolerance” policy under the current administration. While efforts to reunite families have begun, thousands of parents and children still face uphill legal battles for reunification and relief.

Continue Reading An Interview with Betty Balli Torres, Pro Bono Net Board of Directors | A Pro Bono Week Exclusive

Pro Bono Net would like to recognize the thousands of volunteer lawyers who make a huge difference for those in need and the incredibly important work of pro bono volunteers in building our capacity to meet the vast unmet need for civil legal services.  This year we are celebrating National Pro Bono Week by focusing on disaster resiliency in addition to pro bono work around the country. Throughout the week we will be sharing events, resources, and highlights of the work being done to help people facing legal challenges post-disaster. We are very proud to showcase this work and hope that it will inspire more people to get involved.

We’re excited to commemorate the American Bar Association’s National Pro Bono Week, a celebration of pro bono legal assistance involving events planned and attended by public interest legal advocates and the organizations they work with. This year’s celebration is focused on disaster resiliency. Recent disasters such as Hurricanes Michael and Florence and Typhoon Mangkhut devastated communities in the southeast and U.S. territories in the Pacific.

This month, Pro Bono Net joined Dentsu Aegis Network, a global marketing communications network, for a 2-day event titled IdeaJam Hackathon, to mark the beginning of a media campaign for disaster survivors and pro bono attorneys.

Continue Reading Pro Bono Net Joins Dentsu Aegis Network for an IdeaJam to Connect Disaster Survivors with Free Legal Help

Celebrate Pro Bono WeekPro Bono Net would like to recognize the thousands of volunteer lawyers who make a huge difference for those in need and the incredibly important work of pro bono volunteers in building our capacity to meet the vast unmet need for civil legal services.  This year we are celebrating National Pro Bono Week by focusing on disaster resiliency in addition to pro bono work around the country. Throughout the week we will be sharing events, resources and highlights of the work being done to help people facing legal challenges post disaster. We are very proud to showcase this work and hope that it will inspire more people to get involved.

Volunteer attorneys make a big difference in the lives of disaster survivors. In order to help those volunteers with their work, Pro Bono Net partners with organizations around the US and its territories to develop resources, tools, and networks to better prepare and facilitate volunteering. In addition to the roundtables we discussed yesterday, Pro Bono Net offers access to news and alerts, listservs, trainings, libraries and volunteer opportunities specially designed for disaster legal aid advocates.

Continue Reading DisasterLegalAid.org Advocacy Center | Pro Bono Week

Pro Bono Net would like to recognize the thousands of volunteer lawyers who make a huge difference for those in need and the incredibly important work of pro bono volunteers in building our capacity to meet the vast unmet need for civil legal services.  This year we are celebrating National Pro Bono Week by focusing on disaster resiliency in addition to pro bono work around the country. Throughout the week we will be sharing events, resources and highlights of the work being done to help people facing legal challenges post disaster. We are very proud to showcase this work and hope that it will inspire more people to get involved.

This summer Pro Bono Net launched a national roundtable series to discuss topics of cross-cutting interest to disaster legal aid practitioners across regions, in partnership with Lone Star Legal Aid and the Legal Services Corporation.

Continue Reading Ready, Willing & Able: Organizing the Legal Community’s Response to Disasters | A Pro Bono Week Roundtable Discussion

Originally published by NYS Office of Victim Services

New York, NY (October 1, 2018) – The New York State Office of Victim Services today announced a new website connecting crime victims with information and free civil legal assistance is being piloted in three Western New York counties, allowing victims to learn about their rights and connect with resources or legal representation. Established using $1.5 million in federal funds secured by the state agency, the New York Crime Victims Legal Help website will initially serve Erie, Genesee and Niagara counties and will expand to serve crime victims Upstate and on Long Island by the end of 2019.

Continue Reading New York Crime Victims Legal Help being piloted in Erie, Genesee and Niagara counties

Puerto Rico and other areas affected by last year’s hurricanes have been in the news prominently in recent months, but what happens when the media spotlight fades? After the cameras are gone, the physical damages remain and rebuilding is an arduous process. Pro Bono Net recognizes the importance of providing access to legal assistance in the wake of natural disasters and works with partners across the country to build innovative solutions to the short and long-term legal needs arising from these events, which disproportionately impact low income and vulnerable communities.

These needs range from housing instability, job loss, loss of important personal documents, as well as issues applying for FEMA aid or being denied by FEMA, that severely complicate the recovery process. As the Louisiana justice community’s experience with Hurricane Katrina demonstrated, it can take up to ten years (sometimes longer) to resolve the range of legal issues that many survivors face after a disaster.

Continue Reading Update on Disaster Legal Response Efforts in Puerto Rico

Pro Bono Net is teaming up with the Practising Law Institute to bring you a discussion about the access to justice movement and the role of pro bono in closing the gap with Honorable Jonathan Lippman and Pro Bono Net’s Executive Director, Mark O’Brien. Register now for this FREE presentation.

Achieving 100% Access: A Conversation with the Honorable Jonathan Lippman About Pro Bono’s Role in Bridging the Justice Gap is a one-hour discussion between the Honorable Jonathan Lippman, former Chief Judge of the State of New York, and Mark O’Brien, Executive Director of Pro Bono Net, on a number of topics related to the access to justice community and the roles of Pro Bono and technology in closing the justice gap.

Questions to be addressed include: how can pro bono effectively help meet the legal needs of the underserved? How should pro bono respond to emerging trends in the access-to-justice movement? What are – and how do we address – the limitations of the traditional role of pro bono in the access-to-justice movement? Register now for the one-hour briefing on June 5th.

If you are interested in additional discussions between Mark O’Brien and Honorable Jonathan Lippman on access to justice, please visit our website for highlights from our 2016 event A Conversation with Judge Jonathan Lippman.

Practising Law InstitutePractising Law Institute is nonprofit learning organization dedicated to keeping attorneys and professionals at the forefront of knowledge and expertise, as well as preparing them to fulfill their pro bono responsibilities. For more information about PLI’s pro bono programs and activities, please visit www.pli.edu/probono.

The Immigration Advocates Network (IAN) and Pro Bono Net (PBN) won this year’s ClearMark Award from the Center for Plain Language, for best Spanish-language website.  The winning site,  https://immi.org/es, which was launched shortly after the November 2016 elections, helps immigrants understand their legal options and find legal help.  

Immi is a free online resource, in English and Spanish. It uses accessible language to reach a wide audience.  An estimated 15 to 20% of the 10 to 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. are eligible for legal status.  Immi’s interactive quiz asks questions about family, immigration history, and circumstances to help them identify the options.  The site provides additional plain language articles on immigration law, legal rights, how to get good legal help, and more. It has a directory of over 1,000 nonprofit legal service providers, searchable by location. Most recently, we launched a new “Make a Plan” interview on immi, to help immigrants prepare for the risk of arrest or deportation, and protect their families.

Continue Reading Immi Wins 2018 ClearMark Award for Plain Language