Tennessee: Teamwork

	LEFT: LAET Director Dave Yoder (podium) thanked Justice Anderson for opening his courtroom and "demonstrating a special concern for the disadvantaged and legal aid staff who labor to make justice available to them." ABOVE: Rep. John Duncan (R-TN), talking with a constituent after the news conference, praised the partnership with UT School of Law.

In Tennessee, where the government funds 75 legal services lawyers to serve the 746,789 people eligible for their assistance, teamwork is critical.

Fortunately, in the Volunteer State, it’s also second nature.

Teamwork helps explain why politicians put aside party affiliation to support legal services and why law deans are eager for their students to help address the state’s access-to-justice crisis. Justice Riley E. Anderson welcomed Congressman John Duncan (R-TN) into the courtroom of the Tennessee Supreme Court this fall to announce a technology partnership to help more low-income Tennesseans get the civil legal help they need.

Duncan announced an LSC grant to fund a research partnership between University of Tennessee College of Law and LSC-funded Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET), in which law students interested in public interest law will perform case research for advocates at LAET, with a law professor supervising their work. If the partnership works as expected, the project will be expanded statewide.

“Even with the tremendous help of volunteer attorneys, we are only able to meet approximately 20 percent of the legal needs of our community’s low-income people,” says LAET Director Dave Yoder. “The students’ assistance with more complex legal questions will save staff many hours of time that they can devote to serving additional clients.”

Colorado: Cooperation

PHOTOS: Left: In the Colorado Supreme Court courtroom, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) announces $165,000 in federal funds for Colorado Legal Services (CLS). Top: LSC Board member Rob Dieter and CLS Director Jon Asher listen. Bottom: Colorado Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey and Justice Gregory Hobbs announce the judiciary's support. PHOTO CREDIT: Larry Laszlo

With electronic filing of cases now widely available to attorneys in many states, Colorado is poised to become the first state to offer free e-filing to low-income litigants, thanks to an unprecedented collaboration between the federal government, the state’s judiciary, the statewide legal services program, and a major U.S. corporation.

Colorado Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey was joined by Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) and fellow state supreme court Justice Gregory Hobbs to discuss their delight that LSC-funded Colorado Legal Services (CLS) has been awarded $165,000 in LSC grants to pioneer e-filing for pro se (self-represented) litigants. CLS is partnering with LexisNexis Courtlink and the Colorado State Judicial Branch to offer free paperless e-filing to the poor.

“With e-filing, the courts and clerks office have seen improvements in access to information and their ability to maximize resources as caseloads increase and budgets decline,” noted Michele Vivona, chief operating officer of LexisNexis Courtlink. “But the full benefits of e-filing to the legal system are only realized if everyone is included, and that means pro se litigants as well.”

Colorado’s pro se e-filing system will be accessible via the Web. But for those who do not have easy access to the Internet, the LSC grants also will pay for touch-screen, self-help computer kiosks in three Colorado courthouses. Using the self-help terminals, self-represented litigants can get help in domestic violence situations, defend themselves against wrongful evictions, bring small claims, and file for waiver of court fees.

OHIO: Automation

Ohio mirrors the rest of America when it comes to the unmet legal needs of the poor; 80 percent of low-income residents who need legal assistance do not get it.

That helps explain the excitement generated by this fall’s announcement of $238,000 in federal grants to Ohio State Legal Services Association (OHLSA) to fund improvements to the statewide technology infrastructure. The grants will allow litigants to plug in the particulars of their case and receive properly formatted pleadings to file with their local court.

Ohioans who cannot secure counsel can help themselves by calling toll-free legal services hotlines or researching their own cases on the Web; the grants will help self-represented litigants and advocates who offer telephone advice. There will be an online public law library with self-help pamphlets, court forms, and information on topics such as housing and public benefits assistance, in addition to a directory that allows residents to look up information on other Ohio-area organizations that provide free or low-cost legal help.

Congressman Ted Strickland (right, talking with reporter)—joined by LSC officials, OHLSA leaders, and Marietta Municipal Court Judge Milt Nuzum—led a news conference this fall at the Marietta (Ohio) Department of Job and Family Services to highlight the benefits of the new “document assembly” technology.

“It will take complicated legal forms and translate them to layman’s English, so you don’t have to have a J.D. from Harvard to understand the law,” he said. “The beneficiaries of this new software will be some of our most vulnerable citizens.”