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Spring 2003 Student Work New Technologies to Increase Supply of Legal Services
Samantha Grimes, Nick Haralampopoulos, Erin Chapman & Jessica Hill
Articles & Websites
- The Affiliates, Future Law Office
www.futurelawoffice.com/ (Last visited February 11, 2003).This website is devoted to the design of the future law office as a result of the increase efficiencies through technology. It provides insight what the future technologies will be able to do, and the restructuring that would take place that would aid the attorney to better focus on the clients needs.
- CompuMentor, TechSoup.org: The Technology Place for Nonprofits
www.techsoup.org (Last visited February 10, 2003).Great “community” portal for non-profits containing lots of different message board topics, allowing a legal nonprofit to see what others are doing: technology and planning, hardware, software, using the internet, web building, volunteers, consultants, training, computer networks, internet connections, databases, funding.
- Cybersettle, Changing the Way the World Settles Disputes
www.cybersettle.com (Last visited February 12, 2003).An international online settlement forum for consumers.
- Elise Richer, The Safety "Net": Online Access to Benefits for Working Families, Center for Law and Social Policy
www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1042058139.16/website_work_supports.htm (Last visited February 12, 2003).A paper addressing whether technological improvements allow people to access a variety of publicly funded work supports via the Internet. This paper describes benefits of internet access for consumers and advocates.
- Erin Walsh, Some Call it ELawyering: is it a Brave New World or an Ethical Quagmire?, 12 Feb. Bus. L. Today 51 (2003).
This recent article discusses the huge market of potential low to middle-income clients with unmet legal needs and ways lawyers have adjusted their practices to satisfy those needs through technology such as the internet (online dispute resolution, legal documentation services, chat-rooms) and video conferencing.
- "Unbundled" Legal Services
www.unbundledlaw.org/ (Last visited February 10, 2003). This site not only provides cutting edge unbundled information for advocates, but it targets any legal profession from secretaries and clerks to partners and judges. It is an informative site to promote unbundled legal services. It has a schedule of upcoming events and provides new information and ideas. Unbundled legal services refers to the brainstorming and implementation of new formulations of existing legal practice and of entirely new ways to open the system to the public. This is a must see for anyone interested in learning more about the unbundled wave.
- Ilene Mitchell, Technology and the Removal of Access Barriers for Pro Se Litigants
www.judgelink.org/Insights/2000/AccessBarriers/ (Last visited February 12, 2003). This article discusses the barriers that technology can remove to help pro se litigants in all levels of the court system; “to better serve … communities while increasing efficiency….”
- James Holmes, The Technological Revolution for Legal Services Organizations May Change Your Practice, State Bar of Texas, July 30, 2002.
lstech.org/lstech_101/20020730-5313-6146 This article discusses how the “technology revolution” is in full swing for Legal Services Organizations and how they are quickly creating rich technologies that may help all attorneys practice law. This article discusses the development of such technologies as document assembly systems (allowing for the creation of documents), video and conferencing technology, legal content, and case management systems.
- Legal Advice Line, Your Source for Unbundled Legal Services
www.legaladviceline.com/default_1024.htm (Last visited February 12, 2003).This is an awesome all-inclusive website for consumers providing mediation and arbitration services. On this site, consumers choose their jurisdiction and can find a reduced fee attorney, submit a question online, talk to a lawyer and create a legal document.
- Legal Services Technology Network, Technology Information for the Poverty Community
www.lstech.org (Last visited February 12, 2003).This website to technology services and information is tailored to the legal aid audience. This resource for technology and poverty law advocates enables nonprofit legal aid providers to use technology to serve low-income clients more effectively. The Technology Resources Library was designed to promote sharing of information among the community allowing members of the poverty law community to post content directly to the site from their Web browser.
- Legal Zoom.com, Your Online Legal Source
www.legalzoom.com/legalwiz/wills/will_procedure.html (Last visited February 12, 2003).This website for consumers contains legal documentation services for copyrights, divorces, prenuptials, trusts, wills, trademarks, corporations, taxes among others.
- Management Information Exchange, An Exchange of Information for Legal Services
www.m-i-e.org/services/listserv.htm (Last modified September 05, 2002). This website for advocates provides training development services and consulting services to legal assistance programs. This website also provides listservs for fundraisers, managers and administrators. “MIE listservs are intended to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information among fundraisers, managers and administrators who work with programs that deliver legal assistance or legal information to low-income persons….”
- Maryland Legal Assistance Network (MLAN), The People's Law Library
www.peoples-law.org/ (Last visited February 11, 2003).This user friendly website provides current legal information of the state of Maryland for non-attorney use only. It provides self-help information that aids low-middle income persons of Maryland. It provides useful information like obtaining directions to a courthouse, how to conduct a people’s search and lists which steps are needed to obtain legal vital records.
- MegaLaw.com LLC, MegaLaw.com- Lawyers' Window to the Web
www.megalaw.com/ (Last visited February 11, 2003).This website provides useful legal services for both advocates and consumers. For advocates it allows them to search for rules, codes, and cases for International, Federal, State, and Local law. Also, there are links to help an advocate find a court reporter, process server, or even an expert witness on short notice. Finally there are links to current legal forms, message boards, links to Law Associations around the US and a link to help in a legal job search. For consumers the website provides a Legal-Match option which helps consumers pair up with pre-screened lawyers in their area for free. There is also an attorney directory, for consumers to search for attorneys on their own.
- National Center on Poverty Law, Poverty Law Library
www.povertylaw.org/legalresearch/legalresearch.cfm (Last visited February 10, 2003).The Poverty Law Library is an online research tool for poverty law advocates. This website includes manuals for the New Lawyer on subjects such as welfare, housing, health, domestic violence, family law, consumer, employer among others. This website links to poverty law news and recent review articles.
- National Legal Aid and Defender Association
National Legal Aid and Defender Association, www.nlada.org (Last visited February 12, 2003).This is a content-based website specifically for advocates. It claims to be the country’s oldest and largest national nonprofit membership association. This site offers publications such as evaluation reports, Amicus Curiae briefs, training materials, analysis of Legal Services Corporation regulations and Equal Justice News updated daily.
- Nolo, Law for All, Everyday Law for Everyday People
www.nolo.com/lawcenter/index.cfm (Last visited February 10, 2003).This is a website for consumers who want to handle their own legal matters or want to learn enough to make them communicate with attorneys more effectively and efficiently. Nolo publishes books, software, forms and the website. Other services Nolo contains are email lists of newsletters, a service called “Ask Auntie Nolo” which is closed and free excellent law guides called Law Centers. Topics include wills and estates, retirement and elder care, small business, employment law, internet law, family, debt, personal injury among more. Most forms and books are available for a price, but law guides are free.
- Probono.net, Lawyers Serving the Public Good
www.probono.net/ (Last visited February 10, 2003).This is an online library for advocates of training materials, model pleadings and relevant case law. This website includes interactive news and calendar pages with informative articles, important events and upcoming CLE courses and links to other legal service organizations. Topics include asylum, civil rights, community development, death penalty, employment, family law, housing and public benefits.
- Square Trade, Building Trust in Transactions
www.squaretrade.com/cnt/jsp/index.jsp (Last visited February 12, 2003).An online dispute resolution website where consumers can file a case, respond to a case and settle a case. Square Trade also started the Square Trade Seal Program which enables online businesses to show their trustworthiness to promote buyer confidence.
- Southern Illinois University School of Law, Self Help Legal Center
www.law.siu.edu/selfhelp/index.htm (Last modified July 11, 2002).This website is a free service-based website for consumers who want to do it themselves. The website includes forms, self-help guides, agencies that can help and links to other websites. Topics include auto, business, consumer, court, family, health, housing immigration, police, school and utilities. This website is very similar to IllinoisLawHelp and includes a link to IllinoisLawHelp.
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