LSC Innovations in Technology Conference Videos Now Available

For those unable to attend LSC’s recent Innovations in Technology Conference (ITC) in Phoenix, you’re in luck. Videos from many of the conference sessions are now available on LSC’s YouTube channel.

In LSC’s Tech Download newsletter announcing the availability of the videos, several notable sessions were recommended to readers including Deserts No More featuring Rachel Albertson, development and communications manager with Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota (LASNEM). Albertson, along with fellow panelists from the Lagniappe Law Lab and the Louisiana State Bar Association, discuss the digital divide and the existence of legal deserts in more isolated communities. They explain how to make user-friendly choices that accommodate the realities of limited resources and tackle geographic barriers to justice, as well as how their organizations created partnerships connecting rural locales to a continuum of virtual and in-person services.

Other available videos include Googling Justice, a session on SEO optimization for legal aid organizations, and Next Generation Eviction Diversion Programs, which looks at how courts are designed to provide community-driven solutions for landlords and tenants that are propelled by technology.

In addition to LSC’s YouTube channel, it’s popular “Talk Justice” podcast features recent tech-focused episodes including “A Recap of LSC’s Innovations in Technology Conference”, recorded live during this year’s ITC, and “Technological Improvements in Pro Bono Services.” All episodes of “Talk Justice” are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and other podcast platforms. 

LASNEM Featured in January/February 2023 Edition of Duluthian Magazine

In “Striving to Provide Safety, Security, and Stability,” Duluthian Magazine offers its readers a thorough introduction to the far-reaching work of the Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota (LASNEM).

The publication’s overview begins with LASNEM’s 1952 charter by members of the local bar association and delves into how the organization’s mission has remained primary, as its services and priorities have expanded.

With a service area of 27,683 square miles, LASNEM is led by executive director Dori Rapaport and a staff of dedicated professionals serving eleven counties with offices in Duluth, Brainerd, Grand Rapids, Virginia and Pine City.

The article explains how much of LASNEM’s advocacy work accelerated during the pandemic with unprecedented opportunities to respond to client needs with more precision, speed, and efficacy. Some of the projects discussed include virtual housing court and staff expansion through virtual services, the Legal Kiosk and Justice Bus initiatives for meeting clients where they are, incorporation of a business improvement model that includes a call center intake process, and other outreach efforts aimed at “taking it to the streets” to raise awareness of legal aid and the importance of funding civil legal services.

“We want people to understand the critical nature of the work we do,” Rapaport said. Read the article (PDF).

LASNEM Executive Director Dori Rapaport Featured on Talk Justice Podcast

Talk Justice, an LSC podcast that explores ways to expand access to justice, recently hosted a conversation with Dori Rapaport, executive director of Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota; David Estep, supervising attorney at Legal Aid of West Virginia (LAWV); and Jeanne Robison, Salt Lake City Justice Court Judge.

In the episode, Rapaport, Estep, and Robison each discuss their creative outreach methods to promote access to justice, in part by Holding Court Outside the Courtroom. Rapaport talks about the establishment of Minnesota’s statewide Reach Justice Project, and the use of Legal Kiosks and Justice Buses to meet clients where they are, as well as coordination with the courts for virtual hearings, all to enable legal aid to expand client services particularly in rural areas.

Talk Justice guests are leaders from the legal community, government, and business, who share their unique perspectives and explore strategies for addressing the justice gap. Recent episodes have examined the role of law schools and the benefits of medical-legal partnerships.

LSC recently became affiliated with Legal Talk Network to support Talk Justice and enhance the podcast's sound quality and reach. Listen to episode 47: Holding Court Outside the Courtroom.

LASNEM Staff Publish Scholarly Article in Mitchell Hamline Law Review

This summer, staff from the Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota (LASNEM), wrote a scholarly article about the profound impact of the Reach Justice Minnesota project in northeastern Minnesota. Specifically, Jude Schmit, staff attorney, and Rachel Albertson, development and communications manager, zeroed in on the year-old Justice Bus initiative and their article was published by the Mitchell Hamline Law Review.

In Witnessed From the Justice Bus: Covid Drove Equal Justice Off the Road, But Technology Grabbed the Wheel and Is Steering Us Into the Future, Schmit and Albertson, with a combined 22 years of experience at LASNEM, discuss the implementation of the Justice Bus and Legal Kiosk initiatives, which they oversaw, and how through leveraging technology LASNEM was able to reach clients in the rural areas they serve during the pandemic. Ultimately, it argues, “bridging the access-to-justice gap in rural Minnesota requires a multidimensional approach utilizing technology as the vehicle.”

Dori Rapaport, LASNEM executive director, explained “The challenges facing rural America predictably only intensified as the pandemic moved our justice system virtual. The lack of technology, access to broadband internet, and infrastructural poverty became glaring problems in how communities were now expected to access the justice system. However, as this newly published law review article describes, technology to reach rural communities has proven to be a solution with impact that has surpassed expectations. This important article gives real examples of how technology, namely in the forms of justice buses, kiosks, and virtual court, have bridged the divide for those seeking civil legal services in a more meaningful way than decades of other tried solutions.”

Witnessed From the Justice Bus: COVID Drove Equal Justice Off the Road, but Technology Grabbed the Wheel and Is Steering Us Into the Future

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