LSC's 2020 Innovations in Technology Conference

In many states with large rural areas, legal aid programs are often hard-pressed to find sufficient volunteers to handle pro bono cases locally. Rural attorney retirements are outpacing new recruits to small-town practice. This session will demonstrate how three states – Oregon, Ohio and Colorado – are using technology to connect urban attorneys and rural clients with virtual practice tools that give clients better access to pro bono help, even when the attorney is hundreds of miles away. The session will include live demonstrations of the "virtual practice" case placement and case handling tools currently in use in the Oregon project, and demonstrations of a virtual pro bono network in Ohio using Amazon Echo Show video devices to connect urban attorneys to clients in three rural courts. The panel also will feature a similar project in Colorado that connects Denver pro bono attorneys to rural clients.