Toolkits

Introduction  

Introduction  This toolkit provides an overview of collaboration technologies that are commonly used across legal aid organizations. Included within are best practices and practical resources to support effective collaboration and communication.    

 

The legal aid community is constantly evolving to improve and expand its services. From document assembly libraries to case management systems, organizations are taking on projects that will increase efficiency and advance their missions. Project management is vital to this work. Project management reduces costs by improving efficiency, mitigating risks, and optimizing resources.  

You know about case management, document management, and records management. You use your knowledge of the law, the courts, and your clients to represent, educate, and defend them. Knowledge management is a way to address two critical facets of strategic, successful organizational management: • Making the information that you manage more useful and accessible. • Documenting the reasoning behind critical business decisions.

The legal services community has not been immune to cybersecurity incidents over the past years.  Indeed, a significant number of programs have been compromised and significantly impacted by cyber attacks each year.  As with the broader non-profit, business, and government communities, the incident rates and stakes are growing within our community.

The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland created this toolkit to support programs that want to use text messaging to gather outcome data following limited scope legal services. Legal service providers, statewide websites and court self-help centers offer self-represented litigants (SRL) help in a variety of ways with a wide range of problems. These limited services include advice at clinics, help filling out forms, and recommendations about enforcing rights and responsibilities.

Introduction

Legal Services Vermont (LSV) and Atlanta Legal Aid Society (ALAS) developed a web accessibility toolkit as part of their TIG-funded projects to enhance their statewide legal help websites. The organizations partnered with a consultant, David Berman Communications, to explore and implement best practices for making their website accessible to people with disabilities. This toolkit covers:

Telephones—including text messaging, email, and chat—are a common means for people to seek help, and hotlines are a common way legal services provide that help. The right technologies can make sure your organization provides advice, referrals, and services clients need efficiently and in line with your existing procedures for intake and confidentiality.