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Ideabook Training and Info

Street Law cartoon outreach

Legal Design Ideas - ideabook for access to justice - cartoon outreach around street law

Could we make gripping cartoon outreach posters — with basic primers on key points of law and legal services, that apply to people who are likely to be hanging out in a certain physical space?

This idea came up for Trafficking, in airports, bus terminals, and other places of transit. Could we have small illustrated stories or explainers about the law that applies, and what some cases’ storylines and outcomes are?

It will make the law seem more relevant, and also help people better understand what options and strategies are open to them.

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Advocates Ideabook

Legal Advocate SMS

Legal Design Ideas - ideabook for access to justice - Advocate SMS

A mobile-first solution, that would let any lay person connect to basic legal knowledge and education through virtually free SMS back-and-forths. It could be lessons taught in small bite-size chunks and stories, through a series of texts. It could be daily reminders with key lessons to remember. Or it could even be virtual mentoring and instruction, with a real person (or an automated teacher) on the other end, helping a person understand a specific idea.

The goal is to get basic, essential legal knowledge into people’s hands in a lightweight, and virtually free way.

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Advocates Ideabook Integration into Community

“Human Law” drop-in problem-solving centers

Legal Design Ideas - ideabook for access to justice - Human Law

What if there were physical locations in communities, in which people with life problems could drop in and get help?

There would be lawyers there, but there could also be medical, mental health, social service, immigration, and all kinds of other specialists.

It would be a center for holistic care, that you could understand your problem’s possible solutions in many dimensions at once.

Ideally, the tone of the place would be different from most social, government, or legal service centers. The place could be friendly, nice, human-scale, anti-bureaucratic, and warm.

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Advocates Ideabook

Lawyer transparency with stats cards

Legal_Design_Concepts - lawyer baseball card
If one of laypeople’s main concerns about using the legal system is the lack of transparency around hiring a lawyer (how much do they cost? are they any good? will they be the right fit for me?) — then how can we give a person more insight into their possible choices of lawyers and who might be right for them?

There are plenty of lawyer indexes and matchmaking sites online, but what would be cool would be a Stats Card, akin to a baseball card, with hard numbers (not proprietary rankings, that lawyers can game by authoring articles or participating in an online system) about the lawyer’s actual performance.

If a third party neutral entity could count how many cases, proceedings, mediations, outcomes, etc. a lawyer has achieved, as well as client satisfaction with the process (if not also the outcome), this could help prospective users of the legal system be more confident in making a smart choice — and so perhaps more likely to use the system in the first place.

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Current Projects Triage and Diagnosis

Triage Diagnostic Tool to Assess Potential for Self-Representation in New Mexico

Source: New Mexico – Diagnostic Tool to Assess Potential for Self-Representation

The New Mexico Access to Justice Commission used an ATJ Innovation Grant to develop a diagnostic tool to assess factors that might help or hinder a particular individual in self-representation, as a first step in developing a comprehensive on-line intake and triage system.

Project Summary & Assessment

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Current Projects Procedural Guide

Rechtwijzer guide through a legal process

Access Innovation inventory - Rechwijzer - Screen Shot 2015-12-07 at 4.01.04 PMRechtwijzer is a Dutch platform to help laypeople through the start of a legal process — from problem to legal process.

Probleem of conflict? Vul stap voor stap Rechtwijzer in. U krijgt advies over wat u in uw situatie kunt doen en wie u daarbij kunnen helpen.

It takes an ‘expert system’ approach to helping a person figure out what legal options they have open to them, by leading them through a series of questions and helping them get started on their legal process.

Access Innovation inventory - Rechwijzer - Screen Shot 2015-12-07 at 4.01.34 PMAccess Innovation inventory - Rechwijzer - Screen Shot 2015-12-07 at 4.01.23 PM

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Advocates Current Projects

Court Navigator Program to help people through court

NYC Housing Court – Resolution Assistance Program (RAP) offers the Court Navigator Program:

Court Navigator program in NYC

The Court Navigator Program was launched in February 2014 to support and assist unrepresented litigants – people who do not have an attorney – during their court appearances in landlord-tenant and consumer debt cases. Specially trained and supervised non-lawyers, called Court Navigators, provide general information, written materials, and one-on-one assistance to eligible unrepresented litigants. In addition, Court Navigators provide moral support to litigants, help them access and complete court forms, assist them with keeping paperwork in order, in accessing interpreters and other services, explain what to expect and what the roles of each person is in the courtroom. Court Navigators are also permitted to accompany unrepresented litigants into the courtroom in Kings County Housing Court and Bronx Civil Court. While these Court Navigators cannot address the court on their own, they are able to respond to factual questions asked by the judge.

In addition to this court-based program, the courts will also be utilizing non-lawyers to provide legal information and access to homebound individuals.

For information about how to become a Court Navigator.

For information if you are already a Court Navigator.

Administrative Order of the Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts relating to the Court Navigator Program (February 10, 2014)

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Current Projects Work Product Tool

Document Assembly Software for uncontested divorces

Source: Arkansas – Document Assembly Software

Access Inventory - Arkansas pro se doc assembly

The Arkansas Access to Justice Commission used an ATJ Innovation Grant to develop a pro se document assembly form for uncontested divorce with children. The software will be used in a court-house based pilot project in which attorneys assist pro se litigants on a limited scope basis. The pilot is aimed at increasing bench and bar awareness and support for limited scope representation.

Project Summary & Assessment

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Advocates Current Projects

Online user question-and-answers from pro bono attorneys

The Alabama Access to Justice Commission used an ABA Expansion Grant to implement the web-based pro bono program Online Tennessee Justice, which allows pro bono attorneys to answer questions submitted by clients through a website.  In Alabama the website has been launched as Alabama Legal Answers.

Access Inventory - Alabama atj

Project Summary & Assessment

See more: Alabama – Online SRL Pro Bono Support

Final overview/report on creating the Alabama Legal Answers site.

Resources:

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Advocates Current Projects

Referral Program & Lawyer Training to Serve Modest-means Clients

This project received an Innovation Grant through the ABA. Read more: Colorado – Serving Modest-means Clients

The Colorado Access to Justice Commission and Colorado Bar Association used an ATJ Innovation Grant to develop a two-part project aimed at providing legal assistance to moderate-income individuals.  The first is providing assistance to low- and middle-income Coloradans, who do not qualify for legal aid, through a referral program.  The second is empowering lawyers to create financially viable practices that include representing clients of moderate income.