Remote Resources for Pro Bono Attorneys During Pandemic

By Sherri Knuth, MSBA Access to Justice Director

Public law libraries are eager to assist attorneys who volunteer their time to assist those in need. Library support may involve access to helpful legal research resources, especially for the attorney who takes pro bono clients with issues outside the attorney’s practice area.

Thomson Reuters has extended remote access to Westlaw during the pandemic. The Minnesota State, Hennepin County, and Ramsey County Law Libraries can help attorneys with remote access Westlaw. It’s not known how long Thomson Reuters will offer remote access via public law libraries.

Pro bono attorneys may contact the following law libraries about remote access:

• Minnesota State Law Library—651-297-7651

• Hennepin County Law Library—612-348-2903

• Ramsey County Law Library—651-266-8391

Pro bono attorneys in other metro area counties should also contact their local public law library to learn what resources they provide. A full directory of county law libraries is available.    

Other Remote Reference Services
Minnesota State Law Library—Via email, reference and resources from Westlaw, Lexis, HeinOnline, National Consumer Law Center, and print resources like the MNCLE Deskbooks.

Hennepin County Law Library—Offers temporary offsite access to Lexis and research assistance and emailing resources from the library’s extensive practitioner-oriented collection. Related to last summer’s unrest, the library has robust construction and insurance law collections. Pro bono attorneys in Hennepin County may talk to library director Karen Westwood about getting member access, which allows attorneys access to Hein Online and Wolters Kluwer titles from their offices. This also goes for legal nonprofits.

Ramsey County Law Library—Contact the library for documents that can be sent via email. This includes text from Minnesota Practice Series and Lexis Minnesota titles.

For Minnesota State Bar Association Members
The following online resources are available to MSBA Members: Fastcase for online access to primary legal materials; eBooks; mndocs and practicelaw for online forms templates and practice resources. Attorneys access these resources directly from the MSBA.

LawHelpMN Social Media Channels Make an Impact

2020 became the year that LawHelpMN’s social media channels proved to be quick and responsive tools for disseminating vital information to Minnesotans during a crisis. In the early months of the year, engagement on LawHelpMN’s Facebook and Twitter accounts began to gradually expand as State Support took a proactive approach to using the platforms to increase visibility and traffic to LawHelpMN.org. Then, in the spring, as the effects of the pandemic began to wreak havoc, organic reach on the channels accelerated as Minnesotans used social media to learn and communicate about the pandemic’s effects.

Around that time, State Support launched an Instagram account for LawHelpMN, adding the influential platform to its social media offerings, while also making modest advertising purchases on Facebook to promulgate up-to-the-minute COVID-19 resources. The results of these efforts, added with higher website traffic due to profound community need, underscored the importance of social media as a vehicle for expanding the use of LawHelpMN to provide critical legal help.

Thanks to the generosity and foresight of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Access to Justice committee, State Support began its first digital marketing campaign this summer. Funds from the campaign are being used to drive increased traffic to LawHelpMN through targeted advertisements that focus on COVID-19 resources, the Self-Help library, and legal referrals through the Providers and Clinics directory and the LawHelpMN Guide.

Please help us continue to expand this initiative by following and liking LawHelpMN on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LawHelpMN), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lawhelpmn/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/LawHelpMN).

Minnesota Pro Bono Lawyers Are National Leaders

A recent Star Tribune article lauds the dedicated and exemplary work of Minnesota’s pro bono attorneys and explains the activism that led to its strength. Minnesota is leading the country with pro bono stewardship from firms like Faegre Baker Daniels — honored in May by the American Bar Association — Fredrikson & Byron and Dorsey & Whitney, to name a few.

”In 2017, 928 Minnesota lawyers contributed 50 or more hours of pro bono work — more than 106,000 hours,” said Steve Marchese, public service director of the Minnesota State Bar Association.

That spirit of volunteerism and commitment to justice for all is also at the core of the pro bono work being done by Volunteer Lawyers Network, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, and the Advocates for Human Rights.

“Our mission is to protect and promote the basic human needs of people in poverty through the power of legal volunteers,” said VLN’s executive director Thomas Walsh.

Read the full article: Minnesota lawyers' dedication to pro bono work has made the state a national leader.

Access to Justice in Minnesota: An MSBA Report

The Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) and its Legal Assistance to the Disadvantaged (LAD) Committee published the 2017-18 Access to Justice Report for Minnesota. The report highlights initiatives undertaken by the MSBA and LAD Committee in partnership with the Minnesota Judicial Branch, legal aid providers, volunteer attorney programs, and other stakeholders.

Among the highlights:

• Minnesota partners are creating an interactive online portal to direct people to resources to meet their civil legal needs.
• An amended Minnesota rule promotes legal aid's receipt of unclaimed funds in state class actions.
• An MSBA delegation opposes elimination of the federal Legal Services Corporation which funds legal aid programs. 
• A new statewide Low Fee Family Law Project matches clients of modest means with attorneys.
• A coordinated response to legal needs in the event of a natural or human-made crises in Minnesota is being developed. 

Read more about these initiatives and other activities that help improve equal justice for all in our state.

Bench & Bar: MMLA's Executive Director on Addressing Racial Disparities

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.