Pro Bono Net, a national nonprofit organization using innovative technology to increase access to justice for poor and middle income people, seeks a highly qualified candidate to serve as a Court Collaboration Circuit Rider. This full-time position will be supervised by Pro Bono Net staff located in New York City; however, the physical location of this position is negotiable.

Background

Pro Bono Net is a national nonprofit organization based in New York City. We work in close partnership with legal organizations across the United States and Canada to increase access to justice for the millions of poor and middle-income people who face legal problems every year without help from a lawyer. We do this by (i) supporting the innovative and effective use of technology by the nonprofit legal sector, (ii) increasing participation by volunteers, and (iii) facilitating collaborations among legal organizations and advocates working on similar issues or in the same region.

Founded in 1998 with a grant from the Open Society Institute, Pro Bono Net builds web platforms that offer powerful and sophisticated online tools to pro bono and legal aid advocates and that provide critical legal information and assistance directly to the public. We have developed a broad base of support from foundations, law firms, corporate sponsors and nonprofit partners alike. Our model has been adopted in over 30 states and regions, reaching approx. two-thirds of the poverty population and lawyers in the US. Our programs include probono.net, LawHelp.org, NPADO.org and Pro Bono Manager.

Online Document Assembly (www.npado.org) Pro Bono Net manages NPADO.org, a national effort to help local access-to-justice communities provide document assembly content online. Using document assembly, a user’s input helps to fill in court forms and other legal documents automatically, which increases opportunities for self-represented litigants to achieve justice on their own and improves efficiency for legal aid, pro bono and court-based access-to-justice programs. Courts are essential partners in these endeavors, and the level of their participation can often determine an initiative’s success.

The Position

With funding from the Legal Services Corporation TIG Program and the State Justice Institute, the Court Collaboration Circuit Rider will work closely with Pro Bono Net partner organizations involved in or initiating court and legal services collaborations as they plan for and incorporate document assembly into their service delivery systems. Modeling the successful circuit rider program pioneered in the legal services community by Pro Bono Net, the Court Collaboration Circuit Rider will provide strategic, editorial, and technological advice as well as serve as a critical communication link for delivering best practices information to the broader community. Although the Court Collaboration Circuit Rider may help troubleshoot some software issues, this is not a technology support position.

Key Responsibilities

Collaboration and Program Development

• Act as the key staff person responsible for building the national collaborative network between courts and legal aid programs;
• Provide guidance to courts and legal aid programs considering integrating document assembly into their access-to-justice efforts and assist the stakeholders in clarifying their roles in a document assembly initiative;
• Support the planning, deployment, maintenance, and evaluation of NPADO document assembly content projects;
• Work with courts and legal aid programs to encourage replication of existing content and build processes for interstate and inter-organization sharing; and
• Visit courts and legal aid programs as needed to provide training and problem-solving assistance as well as to cultivate new partnerships.

National Capacity-Building

• Communicate with national organizations and groups working to develop best practices for projects drafting standardized forms and document assembly content;
• Work with existing document assembly projects to identify and document what works, what does not, and what has been learned;
• Share best practices and resources for improving template design;
• Establish and oversee a min-grant program to provide financial support to legal aid and court collaborations; and
• Participate as a moderator and/or trainer at national industry conferences.

Administration

• Coordinate with the NPADO Project Coordinator, Statewide Website Circuit Riders, and other relevant project staff;
• Create and maintain reporting systems to document work in an efficient manner; and
• Assist with grant reporting, as necessary.

Qualifications

• Commitment to access to justice innovation
• Demonstrated ability to work well with people and build collaborations.
• Strong self-motivation and initiative.
• Excellent communication and writing skills.
• Demonstrated multi-tasking and prioritization skills.
• Comfortable with public speaking.
• Ability to problem solve creatively.
• Web-savvy and fluent in the discussion of web-based tools.
• Willingness and ability to travel.
• Sense of humor required.
• Demonstrated understanding of document assembly projects preferred.

Pro Bono Net is an equal opportunity employer. Women, people of color, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Email resume, references, and cover letter to jobs@probono.net.

A PDF version of this job description is available here.