For Immediate Release

Contact: Mary Rea, Legal Services State Support

651-842-6906                                                                                

mrea@mnlegalservices.org 

Legal Services State Support Launches LawHelpMN.org Mobile Website

Legal Information Site Offers Mobile Access to Referrals, Information and Self-Help

St. Paul, MN - June 15, 2015
Today, Legal Services State Support, a project of the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition, launched its new LawHelpMN.org mobile website. LawHelpMN.org is a free statewide website for low-income Minnesotans with civil legal needs. The new mobile platform makes it easier than ever to find answers to legal questions, locate legal services and pro bono programs, and find self-help forms and court information.

LawHelpMN.org was launched in 2003 and currently serves more than 458,000 visitors a year. Legal topics covered include family, consumer, housing, public benefits, domestic violence, disability, immigration, and many other areas. Since June 2014, nearly 50% of visits to LawHelpMN.org originated from mobile and tablet devices, up from 13% in June 2011.

The services and information on LawHelpMN.org are now readily accessible on smartphone and tablet devices. The mobile site offers three channels: regional legal aid offices, self-help info, and other legal help. Nearly all the content on the full site is available on the mobile platform, including 146 frequently viewed "Education for Justice" fact sheets. Now available in a mobile-friendly HTML format, these low-literacy fact sheets cover a broad array of civil legal topics. The latest editions of State Support's legal education booklets - intended to more comprehensively educate the community about common and complex legal issues - are also in mobile-friendly HTML.

Major findings from a recent Pew Research Study on the state of smartphone ownership reveal that nearly two-thirds of Americans now own a smartphone, and 19% of Americans rely, to some degree, on a smartphone for accessing online services and information. In particular, 13% of Americans with an annual household income of less than $30,000 per year are smartphone-dependent, meaning they rely heavily on smartphones for online access, because they have neither traditional broadband service at home, nor easily available alternatives for going online. As smartphone reliance increases, the new LawHelpMN.org mobile website will enable more low-income Minnesotans to access the online civil legal services and information they need.

LawHelpMN.org is part of the national LawHelp.org network of nonprofit legal information portals and is maintained by Legal Services State Support in conjunction with Pro Bono Net, a nonprofit leader in increasing access to justice for the disadvantaged.  

About Legal Services State Support
Legal Services State Support is a project of the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition, an association of seven Minnesota regional legal services programs. Legal Services State Support enhances cooperation and coordination among the regional legal services programs that help low-income Minnesotans with a broad range of civil legal matters. Legal Services State Support prevents duplication of effort among legal services programs, provides public legal information on legal issues impacting the rights of low-income Minnesotans, educates advocates on poverty law topics, fosters pro bono participation by Minnesota attorneys, and promotes access to justice through technology.

About Pro Bono Net
Pro Bono Net is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing access to justice through innovative uses of technology and increased volunteer lawyer participation. Pro Bono Net uses innovative web-based platforms - www.probono.net, www.lawhelp.org and www.lawhelpinteractive.org -to recruit and support volunteer lawyers and provide direct information and tools for self representation to low-income communities. Pro Bono Net has also developed Pro Bono Manager, a pro bono practice management software that helps AmLaw 200 law firms increase pro bono participation, manage pro bono caseloads more efficiently, and raise internal and external awareness of pro bono efforts. For more information, please visit www.probono.net.

Legal Services State Support
2324 University Ave W, Ste 101B | Saint Paul, MN 55114
(651) 228-9105 | statesupport@mnlegalservices.org
State Support is a project of the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition,
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