Pro Bono Net staff members will be presenting on a variety of equal justice issues at the 2018 Equal Justice Conference (EJC) this week in California. The Conference takes place May 10th – 12th in San Diego and is hosted by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service and the National Legal Aid & Defender Association.
Pro Bono Net is a national nonprofit leader in increasing access to justice through innovative uses of technology and collaboration. Our staff is made up of a cross-disciplinary team from legal, technology, and community engagement backgrounds who are committed to finding innovative, sustainable solutions for expanding access to justice. The Equal Justice Conference brings together all components of the legal community to discuss equal justice issues as they relate to the delivery of legal services to the poor. Staff members will present on a wide range of topics, including cutting-edge collaboration models in the justice communities, technology to expand pro bono participation, and designing and delivering better tools to assist self-represented litigants.
Staff attending the conference includes Mark O’Brien, Executive Director; Liz Keith, Program Director; Quisquella Addison, LawHelpNY Program Director; Claudia Johnson, LawHelp Interactive Program Manager; Mike Grunenwald, Program Manager; Jeanne Ortiz, Disaster Response Legal Fellow; and Jessica Stuart, Pro Bono Manager Product Manager.
Pro Bono Net staff are participating in the conference workshops below. For more details on each workshop, please visit the EJC website here. In addition, PBN Board Chair and Microsoft Strategic Policy Advisor Dave Heiner and Program Director Liz Keith will be presenting about the Legal Access Platform initiative at Saturday’s National Meeting of State Access to Justice Commission Chairs, along with representatives from LSC, the Alaska Court System and the Legal Aid Society of Hawai’i.
Thursday, 10 AM
Beyond the Pro Bono Manual: Mobile-Centric Strategies to Engage and Support Volunteers
- Barbara Siegel, Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association
- Mike Grunenwald, probono.net Program Coordinator, Pro Bono Net
Incubating Innovation in the Aloha and Midnight Sun States: Updates on the Justice Portal Initiative
- Nalani Fujimori Kaina, Legal Aid Society of Hawai’i, Honolulu, HI
- Liz Keith, Program Director, Pro Bono Net, San Francisco, CA
- Stacey Marz, Alaska Court System, Anchorage, AK
- Glenn Rawdon, LSC, Washington, DC
LSC, Microsoft and Pro Bono Net are partnering with Alaska and Hawaii to develop new justice portals to help all people with civil legal needs more easily access assistance. We will highlight findings from user immersion studies and ideation workshops conducted in each state, intersections with Justice for All initiatives, and developments in this project’s cutting-edge technology and partnership strategies.
Thursday, 11:45 AM
LawHelp / probono.net / LawHelp Interactive Network Gathering / Affinity Group
Programs are invited to share project highlights and connect with others around the country working on or interested in LawHelp.org, probono.net, LHI online forms initiatives or other innovative uses of technology to expand pro bono participation. Contact Liz Keith at lkeith@probono.net with any questions.
Thursday, 1:45PM
Beyond The Hotline: Expanding Through Live Chat And Pro Bono
- Quisquella Addison, LawHelpNY Program Director, Pro Bono Net
- Melissa LaRocco, Legal Aid of Western Ohio
- Eve Ricaurte, Iowa Legal Aid
Many legal service organizations provide legal information and referrals through hotlines staffed internally. This panel will invite providers to consider expanding hotline-type services through live chat programs that don’t unduly tax staff, take advantage of pro bono, and reach community members where they increasingly seek out information – online.
Thursday, 3:30 PM
Courts, Legal Aid, and Self Help Centers Working together to Help Many
- Ana Maria Garcia, Managing Attorney, Access to Justice Initiatives, NLSLA
- Claudia Colindres Johnson, Program Manager, LawHelp Interactive, Pro Bono Net
When every day at 8am there is a line of people seeking help at your doorstep, your program needs to develop methods and tools to be efficient, effective and provide quality services without compromising quality of compassion. In this workshop we will share how two of the highest volume self help centers in Southern CA run and manage their self help centers to be able to serve all that come in a timely basis. They will share about staffing, workflow, and systems that they use to provide quality services with high quality and high capacity.
Friday, 8:30 AM
50 Tech Tips
- David Bonebrake, Legal Services Corporation, Washington, DC
- Liz Keith, Program Director, Pro Bono Net, San Francisco, CA
- Glenn Rawdon, Legal Services Corporation, Washington, DC
- Jane Ribadeneyra, Legal Services Corporation, portland, OR
50 new technology tips! This fast-paced session will provide tips about free and low-cost tools, apps and software to help improve your efficiency and effectiveness in providing legal assistance to the low-income community. This session will help further equal justice for diverse client communities or workplaces by providing advocates with technology tips and tools that can help them do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. Tips will be geared toward specific legal applications and general software tips and tools that address common challenges.
About Pro Bono Net
Pro Bono Net is a national non-profit organization dedicated to increasing access to justice. Through innovative technology solutions and expertise in building and mobilizing justice networks, Pro Bono Net transforms the way legal help reaches the underserved. Comprehensive programs including www.probono.net, www.lawhelp.org, www.lawhelpinteractive.org and the Immigration Advocates Network, enable legal advocates to make a stronger impact, increase volunteer participation, and empower the public with resources and self-help tools to improve their lives.
About the Equal Justice Conference
The Equal Justice Conference, hosted by the American Bar Association and NLADA, brings together all components of the legal community to discuss equal justice issues as they relate to the delivery of legal services to the poor and low-income individuals in need of legal assistance.
The emphasis of this Conference is on strengthening partnerships among the key players in the civil justice system. Through plenary sessions, workshops, networking opportunities and special programming, the Conference provides a wide range of learning and sharing experiences for all attendees.