Helping People Help Themselves: Pro Se Assistance Initiatives Al Schwartz Executive Director - CARPLS

About CARPLS

Overview of CARPLS Legal aid hotline 50,000 client services in FY09 Primarily telephone-based service Advice desks operated at 4 locations in the City Thirty attorneys on staff, many part-time

CARPLS Advice Desks Domestic Relations Advice Desk Collection Advice Desk Municipal Court Advice Desk Administrative Hearings Advice Desk

Software support Recent redesign of our case management software to support volunteer attorneys Provides detailed canned answers to specific legal questions Written specifically from the point of view of a hotline attorney Incorporates CARPLS’ philosophy and policies

Domestic Relations Advice Desk

Domestic Relations Desk: Overview In operation for 7 years Monday through Friday from 9:00AM - 1:00PM 30 th Floor, Daley Center 3 Staff Attorneys, 1 Intake Coordinator & 1 Paralegal 5,500 client services in FY 09

Domestic Relations Desk: Intake First-Come-First Served, No appointments Quick Screen Performed by Intake Coordinator on CLASS case management software Check for conflicts of interest Confirm eligibility for service (up to 200% of the Poverty Level)

Domestic Relations Desk: Consultations Consultations conducted by experienced family law staff attorneys Average Consultation: 45 Minutes Services include: Legal Advice (52%) Drafting of Legal Documents/Self-Help Packets (38%) Legal Aid Referrals (10%)

Domestic Relations Desk: Self-Help Targets simple, uncontested family law matters (pre and post-decree) Petitions for Dissolutions = 80% of all self-help drafting Divorce by Agreement Divorce by Publication “No Issues” Divorce Joint Simplified Divorce

Domestic Relations Desk: Outcomes Draft 80 Self-Help Divorce Packets Per Month/1,000 Self-Help Divorce Packets Per Year 88% Clients follow through with Self-Help Divorce by filing their Petition for Dissolution 97% Clients who file their Petition for Dissolution obtained a divorce Average Court Case: 7 weeks

Collect Advice Desk

Collection Desk: Overview In operation for 3 years Monday through Friday from 9:00AM - 12:30PM Courtroom 1401, Daley Center 2 Staff Attorneys, 1-2 Law Student/Attorney Volunteers & 1 Intake Coordinator 3,200 client services in FY 09

Collection Desk: Consultations Consultations conducted by staff attorneys and law student & private attorney volunteers Average Consultation: 15 Minutes Services include: Legal Advice (85%) Legal Aid Referrals (15%)

Collection Desk: Outcomes Main Outcome: Educate clients about their rights and responsibilities Bank Freeze Exemption Granted: 88% of Desk cases Wage Garnishment Exemption/Reduction Granted: 43% of Desk cases Citation to Discovery Assets Dismissed: 95% of Desk cases

Municipal Court Advice Desk

Municipal Court Desk: Overview In operation since Formerly run by Chicago- Kent Law School. CARPLS took over management in March 2008 Monday through Friday from 8:30AM -4:30PM Room 602, Daley Center 3 Staff Attorneys, 1-2 Law Student/Attorney Volunteers & 1 Intake Coordinator 7,200 client services in FY 09

Municipal Court Desk: Intake First-Come-First Served, No appointments Quick Screen Performed by Intake Coordinator on CLASS case management software Check for conflicts of interest Confirm eligibility for service (up to 300% of the Poverty Level)

Municipal Court Desk: Consultations Consultations conducted by staff attorneys and law student & private attorney volunteers Average Consultation: 45 Minutes Services include: Legal Advice (85%) Legal Drafting/Self-Help Packets Legal Aid Referrals (15%)

Go Bono: Benefit to CARPLS Develop relationship with firms High payoff - 20 volunteers at once per firm Low-impact on overhead - volunteering done from their office not ours

Go Bono: Challenges during pilot I Conflicts of interest Business concerns Getting high-level leaders at firm to support and drive project Much more on-site supervision required than we initially thought

Go Bono: Challenges during Pilot II Getting individual attorneys to comply with our training requirements Loss of interest after initial burst Identifying leaders within the volunteer base

Other volunteers

‘Random volunteers’ Individuals who fill a specialized need Foreign-licensed lawyer who provides supervised assistance to Spanish speaking clients Paralegal volunteer to assist with some intake work

Challenges with individual volunteers Difficult to manage Supervision required on a

Lessons learned: Volunteer programs Go Bono will biggest impact to our program in terms of serving greatest number of clients at lowest cost Go Bono also requires much more work on the front end to get it going Individual volunteers outside of Nightline and Go Bono are rarely worth the time commitment required by staff

Lessons Learned: Go Bono Takes much more on-site staff time than we initially thought Biggest issue for firm leadership is conflicts of interest Biggest issue for CARPLS is getting firm leadership to commit a sufficient number of volunteer attorneys on a regular basis