In 2019, the newly designed LawHelpMN.org had over half a million unique visitors looking for civil legal information and referrals. Many visitors discovered the LawHelpMN Guide for the first time and used it to get resources tailored to their situation. Sometimes, though, visitors just need help finding the right fact sheet or phone number, or want to know if a question can be answered without contacting the court or an attorney. Enter LiveChat, the instant messaging feature on LawHelpMN that lets a visitor chat with a live navigator who knows the site and its resources well.
In order to provide consistent service and staffing with the LiveChat feature, State Support quickly realized it needed a partner. And what better partner than a law librarian? Starting in 2014, the Minnesota State Law Library joined forces with State Support to staff LiveChat. That partnership has been instrumental in keeping the popular tool vital and increasingly available. In the past year, State Law Library and State Support staff engaged in 612 online chats with LawHelpMN users needing help finding information. Chat is generally staffed from 9 am – 4 pm, Monday – Friday.
In the past six months, a new “ticket” function was added to LiveChat. After consulting with State Law Library staff, LiveChat was set up to allow users to submit messages that go to the “Ask a Librarian” inbox during hours when chat is not staffed. This led to 458 tickets being created and then responded to by the law librarians. The ticket system represents a significant increase in LiveChat traffic, and therefore the number of people served.
In 2019, the LiveChat partnership assisted visitors from 51 Minnesota counties, with the highest concentration of issues in the areas of family law, housing, consumer and debt, seniors, employment, criminal issues and domestic abuse. The majority of LiveChat visitors were looking for advice, followed by those looking for information and/or for a lawyer.
With the new ticket function now available, State Support anticipates an increase in “after hours” questions, and thanks to the dedication and commitment of the State Law Library, someone will be there to answer them.