Providing Access to Justice Through Technology in Rural Communities

By Brooke Trottier, 2021 Student Fellow - Rural Summer Legal Corps; University of St. Thomas School of Law

Last summer, I served in the Rural Summer Legal Corps with Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota (LASNEM), a legal services organization that serves eleven counties in the Northeastern corner of the state, including the small town in which my family resides. I was drawn to this program due to its focus on providing access to justice through technology in rural communities.

Reach Justice Minnesota is a project of the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition. This project entails a series of initiatives, two of which I contributed to: the Legal Kiosk Project and Justice Buses.

The Legal Kiosk Project is a network consisting of more than 200 computers located in community partner host sites. These kiosks provide access to a self-help legal database and the application for regional legal aid, with select kiosks outfitted for video conferencing. In alignment with the growing challenges the COVID-19 pandemic brought upon the community, the end of Minnesota’s eviction moratorium saw district courts requiring parties attend Zoom court by video.

While at LASNEM, I focused on maximizing host site experiences with the legal kiosks. As community partners opened their offices to the public again, it was important to ensure that the kiosks were functioning, each site had the tools it needed, and we were available for any questions or concerns that arose. This led to a fun field trip where I drove across LASNEM’s service area and visited five host sites!

Another part of my work involved the Justice Bus, a mobile legal aid office affiliated with a regional legal aid office. I was responsible for ensuring LASNEM’s bus was well-equipped for providing legal aid services out of the bus: drafting internal policies, defining expectations and procedures, and connecting with community partners. This project culminated at the end of July, when the four regional Justice Buses met at the Minnesota State Capitol. It was quite the experience to see the project come to life, and to witness the Minnesota Attorney General’s and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice’s support for the initiative.

“I not only have a renewed energy towards providing equitable access to justice and legal aid, but see a future for myself as a civil legal attorney.”

— Brooke Trottier, University of St. Thomas School of Law

The Justice Bus project required vast collaboration across the state: legal aid staff, attorneys and executive directors, community partners, technology support companies, and the Minnesota Judiciary. Although it could be difficult to coordinate involvement from each group, the value of collaboration was clear.

My Equal Justice Works Student Fellowship introduced me to the expansive reach of civil legal aid. I am immensely grateful for this experience and would recommend the Rural Summer Legal Corps to anyone who is considering a future in civil legal aid. This student fellowship was hands-on and allowed me to own my projects, while being supervised by experienced attorneys and legal staff.

Shared with permission of Equal Justice Works - Law School Engagement & Advocacy

Statewide Legal Services Staff Featured at LSC's Innovations in Technology Conference

Staff from across the state will represent Minnesota at LSC's 2022 Innovations in Technology Conference (ITC2022) this week. ITC 2022 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 people with low incomes. The conference will be presented virtually again this year with pre-recorded presentations, podcasts to spark live discussions, engaging speakers, live interactive sessions, and networking opportunities.

Lending their expertise on panels demonstrating technological innovations in legal services delivery and pro se assistance are staff from Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota (LASNEM), Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM), Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA) and Legal Services State Support.

Beginning Wednesday January 12, at 2:30 p.m., Dori Rapaport, executive director of LASNEM, will co-present the session “Relationships and Tech: Rural Remote Services.” Panelists will discuss the gulf between urban and rural legal access and how to overcome geographical, cultural and digital divides to ensure access to justice. They will cover innovative approaches that integrate technology solutions with relationship-building.

On Thursday, January 13 at 2:30 p.m., State Support’s program manager, J. Singleton, will co-present “COVID-19 Data Trends and Response: Lessons from Four Legal Help Portals.” The session will explore the COVID-19 response and data trends discovered by four legal help portals in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota. The leaders from each organization will walk through processes, strategies and tools for adapting to challenges with a focus on utilizing data to determine areas of need.

Then, on Thursday, January 20 at 12:30 p.m. (the second week of the virtual conference), staff from three legal aid programs, along with A2J Tech staff, will co-present the session “Deploying a Statewide Network of Legal Kiosks.” Rachel Albertson (LASNEM), Lisa Cohen (MMLA), Dori Rapaport (LASNEM) and Kelly Wencl (LSNM) will discuss the creation of a statewide network of nearly 280 legal kiosks stationed in a variety of court, agency, non-profit and other community locations. The panel will walk participants through the project development process from grant management and project ideation, to research and design, partner and stakeholder navigation, and the iterative implementation of technology.

Find our more about the conference and view the full agenda: 2022 Innovations in Technology Conference Schedule | LSC - Legal Services Corporation: America's Partner for Equal Justice.