USING TECHNOLOGY TO ADVANCE YOUR MISSION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITES

USING TECHNOLOGY TO ADVANCE
YOUR MISSION:
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITES
FOR THE UP TO DATE LEGAL AID
LAW FIRM
2008 Equal Justice Conference
May 7-9, 2008
Minneapolis, MN
Using and Recording LegalMeetings for
In-House Trainings
www.lsntap.org
Equal Justice Conference 2008
Kathleen Brockel

Why and How to Use LegalMeetings for
In-House Trainings

Recording LegalMeetings Trainings
Today

The Legal Aid Web Conferencing Project

Citrix GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar

2008 Excellence in Technology Award by
Small Business Computing.com

Frost and Sullivan 2008 North American Web
Conferencing Company of the Year Award
Why LegalMeetings?

LegalMeetings is financially supported by
LSC through TIG Grant to
Center for Arkansas Legal Services and
NTAP

Cost to the general public - $100/mo

Cost to you:
◦ LSC Funded Program $10 - $32/mo.
◦ Non LSC - $40/mo
Why LegalMeetings?
“It saved our program time
and money on face-to-face
meetings.”
-Jackie Taylor, Georgia Legal Services Program

76 Programs have LegalMeetings
Accounts with NTAP

Number of meetings in 2007 – 3075

Number of attendees in 2007 - 8951
LegalMeetings Use
in Legal Services
Employee Training
 Program Compliance
 Website Construction or Design
 Assisting Others with Technology Topics
 Planning in the Delivery of Client Services
 Program Administration
 Employee Mentoring

LegalMeetings is used for:
Quick start
 Change presenters
 Pass control of mouse and keypad
 Chat
 Show screen
 Change between documents or programs

Easy to Use for In-House Trainings
Organizer Application




Enables Organizers to perform meeting functions – schedule, start, edit, etc.
The application must be on the PC you are using to schedule or conduct meetings.
Download anytime at www.gotomeeting.com by clicking the Host a Meeting button.
Access functions by right-clicking the GoToMeeting system tray icon.
Organizer/Presenter
Control Panel
1.
2.
3.
4.
Soundcheck
Recording Settings in GoToMeeting
Recording Process
Finish Recording/Posting
Recording in
GoToMeeting
A microphone
 Windows Media Player

You Need:

IMPORTANT: NEVER SKIP THE SOUNDCHECK! Microphones can
die unexpectedly or system properties can change without you
knowing.
1.
Plug your microphone into your computer. A menu should appear
listing "Microphone", "Line in", "No Action", etc. Select Microphone.
2.
Go to Start Menu -> Control Panel -> Audio and Sound Devices
3.
In Sound and Audio Properties, Select the “Voice” tab, then click on
the button, “test hardware” near the bottom of the window.
4.
Sound Hardware Test Wizard screen will appear. Select NEXT to begin
the tool. It will load and bring you to a Microphone Test window. Talk
into your Microphone. If the bar for “Recording” fills up as green or
another color, then your microphone works. If it doesn’t, make sure
everything is connected properly. Press NEXT. It will now playback the
sound spoken into the recording a few moments ago. If this works,
you are ready to go.
Soundcheck
1.
Have another organizer make you an organizer in
GoToWebinar or GoToMeeting.
2.
Select Tools from the top menu, then click Recording. This
will reveal a new box for Recording.
3.
Push the Settings Button. This will bring up the Audio
settings for GoToWebinar/GoToMeeting. For Audio, make
sure “Record Audio” is chosen. If not, select it. For Video,
make sure “Convert to Windows Media Player File” is chosen.
If not, choose it.
4.
Push “OK” on the bottom of the window and save your
settings.
Recording Settings in GoToMeeting
1.
Press the Record Button. It should cause a red circle to
appear inside the Record Button and the “Stop” button
should now appear.
2.
Don’t touch any of the recording options until the
training/recording is finished.
3.
When the GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar recording is
finished, either wait for the Presenter to end the session
or close the tool screen yourself. It will automatically stop
the recording. It will then take a few minutes to finish
making the file. For a 90 minute training, the time is
approximately 45 minutes.
Recording Process
To Post to a Website use:
 http://winscp.net/eng/index.php


WinSCP is an open source SFTP client for
Windows. It provides a simple interface
for transferring files between computers
and servers.
Finish Recording/Posting
Signup
 How-To’s
 Roundtables: More Cool Bells & Whistles

◦ When: Alternating Thursdays
◦ Time: 11 am Pacific | 2 pm Eastern
◦ Contact:
Gene@lsntap.org
More LegalMeetings Info
@ LSNTAP.org
DOCUMENT ASSEMBLY
Kate Bladow
NPADO Project Coordinator
Pro Bono Net
How Document Assembly Works
Advocates or
self-represented
litigants answer
questions during
an interview.
A personalized document is
created from the answers.
The answers can be
saved and reused.
Example
Idaho Notice for Repairs

Idaho Legal Services/Idaho Supreme Court

Illinois Legal Aid Online Uncontested Divorce

NYC Civil Court Housing Assistance

Pine Tree Legal Aid Food Stamp Estimator
http://idaholegalaid.org/Home/PublicWeb/SelfHelpTemp
https://npado.org/template_answers?template_id=template.2007-0710.3874609332
http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/housing/interactive.shtml
http://www.ptla.org/ptlasite/cool/cliented/estimator.htm
Other Examples
Benefits of Document Assembly
Less time is
spent on
paperwork.
My program
provides better
services.
My program
serves more
clients.
My staff
is
happier.
My staff is
easier to
supervise.

Assist self-represented litigants.
(California, Idaho, Montana, New York)

Make legal aid staff more effective and
efficient. (Georgia)

Support pro bono attorneys. (Illinois)
Who Is Doing What?
Innovation in Case Management
Systems
Using Technology to Advance Your Mission
ABA/ NLADA 2008 Equal Justice Conference
Presenter: Kathleen Brockel, LSNTAP
www.lsntap.org
CMS Innovation

CMS are already deeply embedded in legal aid
work processes, so it makes sense that
programs are extending them to do even more.

A look around the country shows that programs
are customizing CMS to
 Handle general administrative needs
 Improve the intake process
Prairie State Legal Services:
Kemps Grant Tracking

PSLS uses the Grant Tracking portion of the
Kemps system to track and prepare grants.
System tracks:
 Overall views of all grantors
 Individual grants with details
Prairie State Legal Services:
Kemps Grant Tracking
Grantor
Record View
Prairie State Legal Services:
Kemps Grant Tracking
Grant
Detail (1)
Prairie State Legal Services:
Kemps Grant Tracking
Grant
Detail (2)
Prairie State Legal Services:
Kemps Grant Tracking
Grant
Detail (4)
Prairie State Legal Services:
Kemps Grant Tracking
Budget
Tab
Legal Aid Services of Oregon –
Legal ServerTimekeeping

LASO has worked with developers to create an
integrated timesheet module that replaced 2
timekeeping systems.
 Tracks LSC-required timekeeping
 Generates time and attendance time sheets
 Tracks employee benefit leave hours (sick,
vacation, etc.).
 Produces an overtime pay report for nonexempt employees who work more than 40
hours.
LASO Timekeeping Module
Intake

The largest focus of CMS customization has been
in intake.
 Move intake online (to accommodate clients
who are using the web)
 Improve intake questions/advice
 Make intake easier for volunteers
 Provide legal information first then offer
intake if needed
Intake

Improving the existing intake process
Virginia Legal Aid Society (Kemps Prime)
 Legal Assistance Resource Center of Connecticut
(Legal Files)


Adding intake on the web
Legal Services of Northern Michigan (Pika)
 Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project (Practice Manager)
 Iowa Legal Aid and Legal Aid of Western Ohio (Pika)

Virginia Legal Aid Society

Speeds up intake interviews by adding intake
questions and FAQs into Kemps Prime CMS
 800 questions in over 67 areas (employing
National Index and LSC problem codes)
 Over 800 FAQ’s with answers assigned to
these codes
 Programs can easily edit for their own state’s
laws
 Available to all programs in the country using
Kemps Prime version C and higher
Virginia’s Intake (1)
Choose the Problem Type. A list of
intake questions appears.
Virginia’s Intake (2)
Choose National Index Codes.
Virginia’s Intake (3)
Click on the Intake Questions.
Virginia’s Intake (4)
Add the intake answers into the database
Virginia’s Intake (5)
Advice prompts are offered with problem
code and selected FAQ.
Legal Assistance Resource
Center of Connecticut





Intake through a central hotline
Hotline staff distributes cases electronically to
programs based on geography and other criteria
All information is transferred within Legal Files to
the other site
Cases can be transferred in bulk.
System is Legal Files via an Enterprise
configuration, which is a single database
segmented by office or site.
PTLA’s Maine Volunteer Lawyers
Project


The project has built an easy-to-use web-based
interview system volunteers. (The CMS was too
complex for volunteers to use)
This basic interview can be directly imported into
the VLP's case management software, Practice
Manager.
PTLA’s Web Based Intake
Interview (1)
The Intake Form
Seen By Volunteer
Lawyers
PTLA’s Web Based Intake
Interview (2)
PTLA’s Web Based Intake
Interview (3)
Iowa Legal Aid/ &
Legal Aid of Western Ohio (Pika)



Eve Ricaurte of Iowa Legal Aid, used A2J to build
a web-based on-line intake system interface for
PIKA
Pilot project launched by Iowa Legal Aid to ease
hotline load by
 directing people to online resources or other
organizations where appropriate
 allowing potential clients to complete an
application online from remote sites
Now being replicated by Legal Aid of Western Ohio
Iowa Legal Aid (Pika)
Iowa A2J Intake Interview
CMS Innovations Contacts

Virginia Legal Aid Society (Kemps)

Kelly Shuptrine -. kelly@vlas.org


Prairie State Legal Services
(Kemps)
Legal Assistance Resource Center
of Connecticut (Legal Files)

Kathy Daniels IT Administrator
KDaniels@ghla.org

Legal Aid Services of Oregon
(Legal Server)

Aleta Doerr - adorer@laso.org

Pine Tree Legal Assistance
(Practice Manager)

Kathleen Caldwell, Kathleen
KCaldwell@ptla.org

Iowa Legal Aid (Pika)

Eve Ricaurte
Gail Walsh - gwalsh@pslegal.org



INNOVATIVE DELIVERY
MODELS
Ken Penokie
Director and Reluctant CRP
Legal Services of Northern
Michigan
SPOTLIGHT ON REMOTE
INTAKE
Rachel Medina
A2J Author Project Manager
Center for Access to Justice and
Technology
Spotlight on Remote Intake:
Iowa & Ohio Projects
A2J Guided Interviews :
Document assembly front-end and more
TM
A2J Author:
Document assembly front-end and more

Document Assembly
Petition for a
Protection Order

Document
Assembly
A2J Author:
Document assembly front-end and more

Website Guide
What’s the next step?
Where do I go?
Who do I need to
contact?
Iowa Legal Aid:
Pilot Remote Intake Project
A2J Author:
Document assembly front-end and more

Case Management System Data Collection
A2J Guided Interview
(.a2j files)
“NATIONAL SERVER” (NPADO)
IOWA SERVER
XSL
Transform
Answer File Data
Now Available For
Transformed
Answer Files
Interview
Answers
(.anx
File)
….conflicts check
….attorney review
….processing
Imported
Case File
OHIO TIG 2007 Grant:
A Closer Look at the Mechanics for Web Intake
OHIO 2007 TIG FOR WEB INTAKE

Overview of the Grant Project

Building on Iowa’s Model

The Mechanics of Web Intake
OHIO Web Intake
OHIO Web Intake
OHIO Web Intake
OHIO Web Intake
OHIO Web Intake
Activity Nationwide
States with
A2J Author Guided Interviews
(according to recent NPADO server
statistics)
Alabama, Arkansas, California,
Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky,
Maryland, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana,
Nebraska, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Texas, U.S. Virgin
Islands, Vermont, Washington,
Ontario (Canada)
Other Active Registered Users
of A2J Author
Arizona, Connecticut,
Washington, D.C., Florida,
Georgia, Iowa, Kansas,
Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Nevada,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon,
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 EFiling System Projects
U.S. District Courts,
Eastern Missouri
Manatee County Clerk of the
Circuit Court, Florida
(pilot project for the state of Florida)
Clerk of Kane County, Illinois
Intake Interview/Case
Management Database
Projects
Iowa Legal Aid