Bridging the justice gap in New York

LawHelp: Networking Justice Networks
powered by Pro Bono Net

Open Society Institute Meeting Agenda
July 10, 2003

• History and Evolution of Pro Bono Net and LawHelp
• Original Pro Bono Vision
• Expansion to Advocates, Clients, and Policy
• Expansion to Holistic Vision Beyond Narrow Legal
   
• The Base We Have Built
• www.probono.net
• www.lawhelp.org
• Common Platform Supporting Multiple Networks (Local, National and Int'l)
• User Features (Demo)
• Support for Collaborative and Distributed Administration
• Program Sites
• Seniors Website (IA)
• Legal Services of the Virgin Islands
• Farmworker Legal Services (MI)
• Disability Law Center (MN)
• Fair Housing Center (MI)
• Legislative Review/Advocacy (WA)

  
• Scope of Network and Impact (Usage projection slide?)
• App. 30 States with 70% of  Poverty Population/lawyers
• 12,000 Registered Advocate Users at End of 2002//50-10G in 2-3 years
• Projected Annual Visits in 5 Years: 60 Million (14 million poor)\500+ Administrators Maintaining Content (admin slide)
• Millions of Dollars of LSC Investment Now Supports System (show LSC presentation)
• LSC and Court Policy on Access to Justice Innovation Changed
   
• Supporting OSI's Initiatives
• Civil Legal System 
• Delivery System Innovation (probono.net/statewebsites)
• Court Reform Collaborations, (selfhelpsupport.org)
• Access to Justice Funders: NAIP (iolta.org)
• Courts and Legal Services Corporation Refocusing: SJI, NCSC
• Criminal System
• Death Penalty
• Community Justice
• Re-Entry Project
• State Indigent Defense Networks (projusticemn.org)
• Innocence Projects
• Immigration, Asylum and Human Rights
• September 11
• Civil Rights, Advancement Project, Rollback
• International Potential
• Australia
• Canada
    
• Maximizing the Leverage of OSI's Investments:  The Transformative Power of the Platform
• Huge Potential Increase in Access to Justice (increase in brief  service and advice/increase in volunteers)
• Increases Capacity of Ind'l Organizations (program sites)
• Facilitates Sector-wide Collaborations/Capacity (entire civil sector within a state (legal aid, bars, pro bono, schools, courts, social service agencies) (community justice/re-entry/etc.) (selfhelpsupport)
• Links Sectors/Networks (states with states, states with national, area to area, nation to nation)
• Bridges Silos within Sectors
• Rapidly Distributes Best Practices/New Innovations
• Rapidly Supports New Opportunities/Initiatives as They Emerge (9/11) (innovation award)
• Cost Effective, Shared Tech Investment (diff funders investing and leveraging off others investments) (usability story)
• Integrates Policy, Advocacy, and Direct Client Service (linking the field with the policy advocates and systemic change folks)
   
• The Process of Building a New Area (re-entry.net example)
• Steps (convenings, facilitate collaborative (state sites/re-entry)
• Components (tech, facilitation/consulting, cicuit rider)
• Immediate and Ongoing Costs
• For PBN, 50-100 startup (depending on non-tech role)
• Circuitrider (app. 100G per year to lead the network)
• Maximizing Collaborations
• Ongoing need for circuitider/virtual community organizer
   
• PBN's Strategic Plan and Needs
• Budget Projections (app, 1.5M for core services) (OSI currently providing $350-400 a year including Richard's time.)  (Absolutely must maintain this but really need more like 500) 
• Rest comes from a comnbination of fees for service and other fundraising.
• Core Support Need (3-5 years)
• Additional Investments for Creating New Earned Income for Sustainability (app. 200 a year for next two years)
   
• Outcomes of investment:
• Huge benefits for access to justice/other justice initiatives
• Powerful tool for any number of grantees and initiatives by OSI and other funders like JEHT, Ford and others operating in this area. 
• Allows rapid support for new and emerging issues as they arise.
• Engine for rapidly distributing info about new innovations/best practices/ideas.
• AND with the right investment, could actually within the next 3-5 years be generating a significant amount of earned revenue and fees that will move the org toward self-sufficiency.  If underfunded, we will not be on that path.