Best Practices in Using
Technology to Recruit and
Support Pro Bono Lawyers
Matthew Burnett
Pro Bono Net
Naceem Navidi
LSNTAP
Outline
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Why Technology and Pro Bono?
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Benefits to pro bono organizations
Benefits to advocates
Benefits to clients
Tools for Pro Bono Recruitment
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Statewide Advocate Websites
Organizational Websites
State and National Pro Bono Opportunities Guides
Pro Bono Case Listings
Email/E-Newsletters
Outline (cont.)
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Tools for Pro Bono Support
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Tools for the Future
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LiveHelp
Case Management Integration
Technology and Pro Bono in the Field
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Online Libraries
Listservs
Webcasts
Webinars
Online Document Assembly
Addressing Support for Rural Attorneys in Georgia
Questions/Contact Details
Why Technology and Pro
Bono?
Technology benefits pro bono programs:
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Encourages greater pro bono participation by
offering meaningful support
Allows for rapid communication with pro bono
volunteers
Connects volunteers and clients based on interests
and needs
Builds a community of volunteers
Helps to track program activities and outcomes
Others?
Why Technology and Pro
Bono?
Technology benefits pro bono lawyers:
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24/7 access to resources for busy advocates
Easily communicate with substantive experts and
other advocates who have taken similar cases
Choose cases that are within their interest and skill
level
Others?
Why Technology and Pro
Bono?
Technology benefits clients:
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Greater resources and increased efficiencies, which
can result in higher quality legal services to an
increased number of clients
Bridges physical and geographical barriers, which
allows for increased services to rural and other
underserved clients and communities (disabled,
limited English proficiency, etc.)
Others?
Tools for Pro Bono
Recruitment
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Statewide Advocate Websites
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Online tools
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Calendar (pro bono trainings and events)
News (pro bono awards and newsletters)
Library (training manuals, sample briefs)
New Cases (case summaries)
Pro Bono Opportunities Guides (program information)
FloridaProBono.org
Arkansas Pro Bono
Partnership
NYC Pro Bono Center
Tools for Pro Bono
Recruitment
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Organizational Websites
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Web-based content management
Display information about your pro bono program:
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Highlight areas of practice
Share success stories
Provide contact information
Accept donations
Post other organizational information such as your
board of directors and funders
Volunteers of Legal Service
Tools for Pro Bono
Recruitment
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State and National Pro Bono Opportunities
Guides
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Allows advocates to search for pro bono
organizations (i.e. by location, interest, population
served, and keywords).
Many state and local bar websites have pro bono
guides with varying degrees of interactivity.
Washington State Pro Bono
Guide
OhioProBono.org
National Opportunities Guide
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A joint initiative between the ABA and Pro Bono Net
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A comprehensive list of pro bono organizations in the
United States
Searchable by state, county, area of law, population
served, etc.
Users can add an organization and provide comments on
exiting data, which is then reviewed and approved by a
statewide admin
National Pro Bono Opportunities
Guide
Pro Bono Case Listings
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List case summaries by substantive area or
location
Provides organization and contact
information
Bay Area Case Listings
Georgia Case Listings
Email/E-Newsletters
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Build a sense of community among your pro
bono advocates
Include volunteer profiles to encourage
participation
Update advocates about upcoming trainings
and new resources
NYC Pro Bono Center
Newsletter
Arkansas Pro Bono Partnership
E-Newsletter
Minnesota E-Calendar
Tools for Pro Bono Support
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Online Libraries
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Password protected libraries for posting
resources:
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training manuals
practice guides
sample pleadings and briefs
forms
PAProBono.net Resource
Library
Georgia Online Law Library
“Smart” Websites
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Smart websites are those that take user
data and automatically deliver relevant
information back to the user to create a
user-centric web page
Very common in commercial websites like
Amazon.com, Netflix, Google News
Multiple ways to gather user data:
automatically through clicks, through user
profiles, or through user tags.
IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org
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Recommended content looks at pieces of
contents the user has looked at and
recommends similar content based on what
other users looked at and on the national
index problem codes
My Program Space returns news, events,
jobs, and volunteer opportunities tied to the
user's organization
IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org
(cont.)
IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org
(cont.)
IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org
(cont.)
Listservs
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Keep pro bono advocates up-to-date and
provide technical support on cases.
Encourage volunteers to join existing
substantive listservs in your state.
Texas Lawyer’s Help Listservs
Webcasts
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Tool to provide technical support to pro bono
advocates, particularly when they are supplemented
by other training materials.
A “window” to new areas of practice to increase
volunteer interest
Don’t require advocates to travel to trainings
Can be watched at any time or multiple times
Prisoners’ Rights Webcast
NYC Pro Bono Center
Webcast Archive
Webinars
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Online seminars, which require only that participants
call a conference call number and click on a link that
initiates a web-based application.
Products such as GotoMeeting are reasonably
priced for smaller groups (up to 25 participants).
https://www.gotomeeting.com
Larger sessions can be facilitated using
GotoWebinar.
https://www.gotowebinar.com
Both allow you to share materials with your pro bono
advocates on their PC, as well as to field questions
on the spot. You can also give participants the ability
to share their PC (i.e. to review documents).
Online Document
Assembly/NPADO
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The NPADO Project is a document assembly project
that hosts interactive forms for the nonprofit legal aid
and access-to-justice community and assembles
professional-looking legal documents based on a
user’s input.
States can develop templates to provide automated
document assembly in an efficient, cost-effective
manner to assist pro bono advocates in
representing their clients.
For more information, contact Kate Bladow, NPADO
Project Coordinator at kbladow@probono.net
Georgia HotDocs Library
Tools For the Future
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LiveHelp: Online remote technical assistance for pro
bono advocates. To be piloted in Georgia in 2007.
Case Management Integration: Automatically
integrates self-help and advocate resource materials
(sample briefs, pleadings, forms, etc.) into case
management software based on a client’s legal
problem. To be piloted in Georgia and Kentucky in
2007.
LiveHelp
Technology and Pro Bono in the
Field
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Mike Monahan, Pro Bono Director, Georgia
Legal Services Program
Questions/Contact Information
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Questions?
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Contact Details:
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Matthew Burnett
mburnett@probono.net
Naceem Navidi
naceem.navidi@gmail.com
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Mike Monahan
mike@gabar.org