Increased Awareness and Support for Civil Legal Aid

In recent coverage from Minnesota Lawyer, the overall gaps in the availability of legal aid nationally and in Minnesota were cited, as well as the nonexistence of the right to counsel in civil cases. These access issues, along with the well-known gap in coverage between rural and urban areas, were discussed at a recent webinar hosted by the American Bar Association (ABA). One of the panelists, Radhika Singh, vice president of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) said that legal aid attorneys should be thought of as “human services providers” because of the ripple effect that civil legal problems can have on the health and well-being of people.

In Minnesota specifically, Katy Drahos, access to justice director at the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), noted that statewide access mirrors the nation and that greater Minnesota faces different challenges. “In rural areas, there are fewer attorneys per population and larger service areas. Also, lack of broadband access in some areas can make court appearances challenging for both attorneys and clients. In the metro area, there is a higher volume of cases which makes it tough to meet the need at current funding levels,” Drahos said.

The lack of adequate funding for legal aid has been a perennial problem in Minnesota and throughout the county. A positive sign in Minnesota recently was the state’s historic 85% increase in funding for civil legal aid services, allowing programs to reasonably increase salaries, retain attorneys, and improve services.

Justice North, which serves 11 counties in northeastern Minnesota, has also leveraged resources that became available during the pandemic, such as virtual court. With a service area of about 27,000 square miles, and a staff of 40, virtual court has been a game-changer, according to executive director Dori Rapaport. So has the use of a network of community legal kiosks that allow financially eligible residents to seek legal information and aid in a setting outside their home. “The technology allows people to meaningfully engage with legal matters,” Rapaport said. “Now, we’re in a position where other states are looking to us for how we provide rural access.” Read more in “Civil legal aid draws greater attention, support” from Minnesota Lawyer.

LSNM and Park Rapids Library Partner to Provide Legal Kiosk Services

For those who visit the Park Rapids Area Library in northern Minnesota, a free legal kiosk station is now available to help them address their legal issues. Originally a partnership between Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM) and the MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership, renovations at the community center’s office prompted the suggestion to relocate at the public library.

The library’s branch manager, Jodi Schultz, agreed it was a great location for a kiosk, which is now located in the library’s upstairs meeting room. Kelly Wencl, communication and outreach coordinator for LSNM, said “These legal kiosks are mini-tech centers that are hosted by community partners, and allow for video access to an attorney or courthouses, along with printers, scanners, etc. The kiosks will provide safe access to legal information and legal aid lawyers across our service area.” Wencl noted that there are over 250 legal kiosks across Minnesota with nearly 60 located in northwest Minnesota, including at the Fergus Falls and Bemidji public libraries.

In addition to such uses as attending a court hearing remotely, meeting with a legal aid attorney, printing and emailing documents, or filling out forms, Wencl explained, “the kiosk can be used by community members for a wide variety of things, such as telehealth appointments or job interviews. It is not limited in capacity to only legal topics, information and resources.”

Reservations for the kiosk are recommended and can be made by calling the Park Rapids Library. Read more in Free, legal ‘mini-tech center’ moves into Park Rapids Library.

LASNEM and ALS Discuss Impact of Virtual Court

In October’s cover story for Bench & Bar of Minnesota, remote court proceedings are the new normal and what that means for clients, attorneys and the courts is explored. Dori Rapaport, executive director of Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota (LASNEM), discusses the impact of virtual court on her program’s clients and legal aid in “Courtrooms without borders.”

Before the prevalence of remote court, LASNEM staff were forced to make difficult decisions. The logistics of appearing in court for one client in Duluth and for another the same day in Grand Marais, three hours away, was sometimes insurmountable. With the use of “Zoom court” responsiveness to clients has increased dramatically and made it easier to secure representation. Clients have also benefitted by not having to take time off work and find child-care or transportation.

“Because we had virtual courts, we could coordinate all the housing hearings in one calendar. It was one referee hearing all the cases and he became a subject matter expert,” Rapaport said. “Instead of picking and choosing where we could drive to and pick which clients we could help, we could represent them all.”

Litigation director Valerie Field of Anishinabe Legal Services (ALS) has mixed feelings about the impact of remote court. ALS provides civil legal services in tribal and state courts and many of their clients have limited access to the internet. The tribal courts have developed different pandemic approaches, with some remote, some mostly in-person, and some, like Leech Lake, a mix of both.

For more about the benefits of remote court in greater Minnesota and the metro, as well as drawbacks, and a view from the bench, read the full article.