LawHelpMN.org Integrates Essential Criteria Established by Pew Charitable Trusts

Last year, the Pew Charitable Trusts released “What is a Legal Assistance Portal?” to help policymakers and the public recognize the promise of portal tools and understand how they work. Pew identified four essential elements that are ideal for helping users navigate a legal issue and take informed action: 1) Ask, 2) Refine, 3) Learn, and 4) Connect. LawHelpMN’s Guide tool was chosen as exemplary in the use of refining questions (element #2) to clarify a user’s issue and generate more tailored, and therefore helpful, responses.

In a new fact sheet released this week—What Are the Essential Elements of Legal Assistance Portals? —Pew again emphasized this critical framework and how it facilitates a user’s access to timely, relevant, and accurate guidance. Pew analyzed 15 publicly available, statewide, multi-issue portals and used the framework to examine each. 10 met the criteria, including LawHelpMN.org.

For more about the four essential elements of online legal portals, read the full fact sheet.

MetroDoctors Magazine Features LawHelpMN

This month, MetroDoctors, the journal of the Twin Cities medical society, spotlights LawHelpMN.org in an article by State Support’s Emily Good. In Medical-Legal Partnership Online, Good offers an overview of the new LawHelpMN Guide tool with an eye toward doctors who want to help patients address the social determinants of health. The article, and a special pull-out on how the Guide can help doctors make meaningful legal referrals, are aimed toward a greater understanding of the impact of legal services on a patient’s overall health.

In addition, the November/December issue highlights the work of State Support’s pro bono designer, Josie Adkins, whose work on the LawHelpMN Guide logo and infographic are beautifully reproduced in the magazine’s printed edition. A helpful chart framing legal care as health care by the National Center for Medical Legal Partnership is also included. Read the article here.

MN Unbundled Law Project: Clients Can Now Apply Through LawHelpMN.org

Applying for services from the Minnesota Unbundled Law Project just got easier. Last week, online integration with the LawHelpMN Guide was activated, allowing users to apply directly from LawHelpMN.org.

Also known as limited scope representation, “unbundled” legal services allow an attorney and a client to customize legal services according to the client’s needs and budget. Services could be limited to a certain issue in a case, legal advice, review of court documents, or coaching a client who will provide self-representation.

Now, when the MN Unbundled Law Project comes up as a service option via the LawHelpMN Guide, the applicant simply clicks the blue Apply Online button to begin. The short application asks for contact information and a little about the case. Once submitted, the MN Unbundled Law Project matches the applicant with a lawyer and sends an email to both requesting a consultation.

Launched last fall, the MN Unbundled Law Project brings together the work of the state’s largest bar organizations to increase access to limited scope/unbundled legal services for all Minnesotans. It provides an easily accessible platform for clients interested in more affordable legal options to connect with the attorneys interested in assisting them.

J. Singleton, program manager of Legal Services State Support, noted “The new integration with the Minnesota Unbundled Law Project is a great addition to LawHelpMN.org. Our goal is to provide a great user experience and this new feature allows users to seamlessly ask for a consultation without having to enter their information on multiple websites. This is a great step toward making our complex legal system just a little bit easier to navigate.”

LawHelpMN: Commitment to Improvement and Advancement for Our Clients

By J. Singleton, Program Manager

On February 1, 2019, State Support launched a redesigned LawHelpMN.org featuring the new LawHelpMN Guide. Our work didn’t stop there though. Since launch, we’ve continued to improve the website with a dedicated development budget that turns user feedback and website analytics into tangible advancements. For example, we’ve added functionality that allows users to filter their Guide service results based on their preferences, share their Guide results via text or email, and use the Providers and Clinics Directory to print off custom referral sheets. 

A key component of our continuous improvement goals is a 6-month review of the Guide’s questions. We use analytics to determine when it seems like users are confused or are not finding the information they need. In one instance, we discovered that most people who chose the “Kids, Teens, and School” legal topic had questions about custody, which is included under the “Family” legal topic. While the Guide was still able to direct users to the appropriate custody resources, it wasn’t the most direct route to those resources. To help users get to the right section of the Guide earlier in the process, we will be changing “Kids, Teens, and School” to “Youth Rights and Education” to make the kinds of issues included in that topic clearer. 

During our 6-month review, we also identify and add new resources and adjust the Guide to make sure users can find those new resources readily. In our first six-month Guide revision we wanted to make sure low-income inventors and owners of small businesses and nonprofits knew they might be able to get legal assistance through LegalCORPS. To accomplish this, we are adding a new series of questions to identify people who have a legal issue related to their invention, non-profit or small business. We also crafted questions to identify additional situations in which Community Mediation Minnesota would be a good referral. 

If you have suggestions about how to make LawHelpMN a better resource, please let us know!