In this month's edition of Bench & Bar of Minnesota, Cathy Haukedahl, executive director of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, explores the hard and necessary work of addressing racial disparities in an essay focused on how law organizations, including legal aid programs, might do a better job. Read more.
Online Legal Forms: Minnesota Uses Tech to Democratize Justice
In June, a New York Times essay on the rise of online legal forms brought encouraging validation to Minnesota's legal aid community. Again this month, a Times op-ed called attention to the innovation and growing prevalence of online legal forms, mentioning LawHelp Interactive as part of a "Year of Big Ideas in Social Change." The Minnesota Legal Services Coalition continues to be a national leader in using technology to increase access to civil legal justice, and currently hosts 21 online interviews on the LawHelp Interactive platform, including the recent addition of interactive family law forms for tribal courts.
On Minnesota’s work, Mary Kaczorek, supervising attorney at State Support said, “The free interactive legal forms on LawHelpMN.org help maximize limited resources and expand legal aid’s reach to provide critical help to underserved populations across Minnesota.”
Attorney at Law Magazine Interviews MMLA's Cathy Haukedahl
Cathy Haukedahl, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
Cathy Haukedahl, executive director of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, was recently interviewed for a feature story in Attorney at Law magazine. Haukedahl shares experiences that have shaped her access to justice philosophy, the core values that influence her work with legal aid, and how the community can continue to progress in our pursuit of access to justice for the most vulnerable Minnesotans. Read the interview.
New, Improved OFP and HRO Interactive Interviews on LawHelpMN.org
Legal Services State Support is pleased to announce that new, and improved, Order for Protection (OFP) and Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) interactive interviews are now available on LawHelpMN.org. These do-it-yourself guided interviews were created by Jenny Singleton, legal/technology projects manager at State Support, in collaboration with the MN Judicial Branch, and with support from LSC's Technology Initiative Grant Program.
The free interactive interviews take users step-by-step through all the information they will need to submit to the court in order to request an OFP or HRO. The interview then compiles the user’s submitted information and creates the forms the user will need to file with the court. Access the OFP interview, the HRO interview, and other interactive interviews and forms here.
Anishinabe Legal Services Announces New Interactive Forms for Tribal Court
Anishinabe Legal Services (ALS) is excited to announce new interactive family law court forms for White Earth and Leech Lake Tribal Courts. The forms are available online through LawHelpMN.org and were created with funding from LSC's Technology Initiative Grant Program. These free, interactive tribal court forms, available through LawHelp Interactive, include custody and parenting time petitions and answers, in forma pauperis, dissolution petition and answer, summons, petition for visitation, orders for protection, motion to modify child support, and more.
The new interactive forms use guided "interviews" which take users step-by-step through all the information they will need to submit to the tribal court, and include video instructions and checklists for individual use. The interview then compiles the user’s information to create the forms they will need to file with the tribal court.
Cody Nelson, ALS project designer, said, "Providing these automated forms and document assembly services for community members with so few pro bono legal assistance options is a tremendous opportunity to increase access to justice throughout the Leech Lake and White Earth Reservation communities.”
To access the new interviews, visit LawHelpMN.org, or the ALS blog page.