1. 1 Using I-CAN! In a Clinic Setting William T. Tanner Directing Attorney Legal Aid Society of Orange County

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3. 3 Legal Resolutions Center Self-Help Center Self-Help Clinics

4. 4 Self-Help Center Small Claims Advisor, LRS, Self-Help (I-CAN!), and WEConnect Center Since 2004 assisted over 175,000 litigants –Over 125,000 Small Claims calls –Over 40,000 LRS referrals –8,653 walk-ins (2006-2008)

5. 5 Who Are the Staff? Paralegals and paralegal interns, law students and pre-law students, law graduates and attorneys. The center is supervised by an attorney One attorney, 4 FTEs, approx. 9 interns each quarter

6. 6 Who Do We Help? Anyone who walks in - the center is open to the public No income guidelines There are no appointments Days and hours: M-F, 9-5pm All services provided in the center are free

7. 7 Self-Help Clinics The Legal Resolutions staff has held weekly clinics in: –Landlord Tenant –Civil Harassment –Small Claims –Family Law All use I-CAN! to prepare their documents

8. 8 What is I-CAN!? An internet based program helps litigants complete the paperwork The web address is: www.icandocs.orgwww.icandocs.org No longer kiosk based Access anywhere you have the internet

9. 9 I-CAN! ICAN! is an alternative to filling out legal forms by hand The litigant answers questions displayed on a series of screens I-CAN! places the litigants answers in the correct spaces on the forms required for their particular legal matter Similar to Turbo Tax or ezlegalfile.com

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11. 11 I-CAN! I-CAN! Can assist litigants who read English, Spanish and Vietnamese languages Through I-CAN! the litigant will create a personal password The litigant can login and make changes to their information any time and from any computer with internet access

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13. 13 How I-CAN! Helps Litigants? We evaluate to determine if I-CAN! can help the litigant Fills out forms for a variety of legal matters, including, divorce, domestic violence, paternity petition, order to show cause and fee waiver

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15. 15 Clinics The Legal Resolution Center holds weekly clinics Clinics are successful in helping a large group of litigants dealing with similar same legal proceeding at one time

16. 16 Self-Help Clinics-FAMILY Why Family Law Clinic—3 Reasons to assist the many pro per litigants with rejected court documents who came to us –Opened prior to self-help center at LJC Unmet needs of family law litigants And we wanted an evening clinic

17. 17 Who attends? Legal Aid schedules up to 20 litigants LR Staff schedule people who call or come in and cannot immediately help Follow ups from other clinics –We assisted with Step 1 Divorce and they need to complete Step II and III

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19. 19 Tools 12 Computers with internet access 7 additional computers Printers at each station Staff/Volunteers somewhat familiar with family law forms

20. 20 Summary of Services JanFebMarAprYTD # Attend/ Scheduled 35/48 40/5140/6246/69161/230 70% I-CAN! Modules 64547785280 Other Forms 6512730 Other Forms: Mostly Application and Order to Post (Alternative to Publication)

21. 21 Types of Cases Dissolution/Legal Sep./Annulment –Step I, II, III (Judgments) Paternity OSC –Initial and Modifications –Custody, Support Name Change Guardianships * Motions to Transfer, Dissolution of Domestic Partnership

22. 22 Assessment/Triage Determine what assistance and modules –Attendee states, “I need custody” Dissolution, Paternity, DCSS ID modules –Fee Waiver, Paternity, OSC, Income and Expense –Mostly OC but we have LA, SD, SB, Riv. and we can serve all over the state.

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24. 24 Who Helps at the Clinic? Lawyers, Law Students Paralegals, Paralegal Students Undergraduates Attorneys who are clerks Great way to use volunteers who want to help and learn

25. 25 Training On the spot-learning by doing They complete divorces using I-CAN! themselves, then help litigants Cheat Sheets

26. 26 Limitations of I-CAN! Does not complete local forms –If you have a local form I-CAN! Could print a blank, or fill out the information already collected in the module Only has courthouses we could find. –If you have one not listed email me btanner@legal-aid.com (what kinds of cases are filed there) btanner@legal-aid.com

27. 27 Unintended Benefits With volume we have a sense of what is happening at the courthouse Application and Order to Post Meet with clerks to review processes Processing Judgments

28. 28 Questions William T. Tanner Legal Aid Society of Orange County 2101 N. Tustin Ave Santa Ana, CA 92701 714-571-5277 btanner@legal-aid.com

29. 29 www.icanefile.org I-CAN! has a tax program too Free federal and state tax filing –Focuses on 10 states –$102,000,000 returned to US taxpayers $30,000,000 in EITC Listed on IRS website