Access to the legal system and a chance at justice are increasingly available only to those with the means and resources to use technology. The COVID-19 pandemic has moved the legal system largely virtual, creating a greater digital divide that disproportionately impacts communities served by Minnesota legal aid. To address this problem, the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition has partnered with organizations across the state to install a network of more than 250 legal kiosks.
The Legal Kiosk Project uses community-based legal kiosks to help Minnesotans who face technology access and transportation barriers to have a healthy and safe experience interacting with civil legal aid experts, as well as administrative and court systems. The kiosks are stationed in a variety of library, court, agency, non-profit, and other community locations.
One of these locations is at the Bemidji Public Library in partnership with Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM). Anne Hoefgen, executive director of LSNM, recently spoke with Lakeland PBS about the legal kiosk there.
State Support Offers Expertise at 2021 Innovations in Technology Conference - January 12-14
On Thursday, January 14, 2021, J. Singleton, Program Manager with Legal Services State Support, will co-present a session as part of LSC's Innovations in Technology Conference. The annual conference seeks to expand access to justice by promoting technological innovations in legal services delivery and pro se assistance. It brings together a broad range of professionals to showcase technology projects and tools being implemented across the country and internationally to promote access to justice and high-quality legal representation for low-income people.
LSC's 2021 Innovations in Technology Conference (ITC2021) will be presented virtually. ITC2021 will offer the same great content but re-imagined to work in a virtual environment. There will be pre-recorded presentations and podcasts to spark live discussions, engaging speakers, live interactive sessions, and networking opportunities. See the description below for more information about J.’s session and register for the conference on LSC’s website.
Live Discussion: Creating an SEO Recipe for Success
Thursday, Jan. 14, 1:30 – 1:50 CST
J. Singleton, Program Manager, Legal Services State Support
Dave Guarino, Principal, FIDG Labs
What are five things you can do to help people with legal questions find your website? This session will bring you these answers and more. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing visitors to your website and improving the quality of those visitors by making sure your website shows up as a top resource when visitors use a search engine like Google. Over the last six months, staff at LawHelpMN.org have worked in partnership with Dave Guarino and The Pew Charitable Trusts to develop an SEO recipe book tailored to legal information websites. All recipes are tried and tested. Attendees will learn about each approach, including the complexity, expected impact, and how to take baseline measurements and track success. Approaches range from technical, back-end improvements to learning how users talk about and search for legal issues and incorporating that terminology in your copy.
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).
Needs Shift as Thousands Flock to Legal Help Portals During Pandemic
In its ongoing series of articles about the growing use of legal assistance portals, Pew Charitable Trusts again mentions LawHelpMN as an example of an online portal’s “potential to help people experiencing legal problems during this pandemic and beyond.”
Pew’s most recent analysis “Legal Assistance Portals Reflect Shifting Needs Since Pandemic’s Start” discusses how Michigan Legal Help, Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO), Ohio Legal Help, and LawHelpMN are tracking metrics and adjusting to users’ needs. These sites each have resources addressing new rules for housing and other pandemic related changes in their areas. Perhaps not surprisingly, even with an eviction moratorium in Minnesota, LawHelpMN’s COVID-19: Renters’ Rights During the Pandemic has been one of the most consistently visited pages on the site since March.
In addition to housing related resources, portals have also seen increased traffic to domestic violence, unemployment, and other financial assistance resources as the pandemic stretches on. Adapting to shifting needs will continue to be significant.
J. Singleton, program manager of Legal Services State Support, emphasized this, saying “As the impacts of the pandemic evolve, we’re working with legal aid and community partners to refine the type of content we create and how we deliver it—for example, by providing more video content and increasing our activity on social media channels.” Read the full article.
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.