As a remote company, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to leverage technology to both increase pro bono work and effectively scale as a team. So as law firms, in-house teams, and legal services organizations work to transition to the new (remote) normal, we’d like to share a few tips we’ve learned to keep your pro bono program running strong:
- Get organized. Keeping track of what needs to get done next is paramount in times of uncertainty. The Paladin team is a big fan of Notion to maintain a centralized repository of work tasks and matters, and Trello for moving tasks along the pipeline. Personally, I also use the Moleskine Actions iPhone app to jot down to-dos while on the go.
- Over-communicate. Firms and companies likely limit communication tools to certain apps, but in the event you have more flexibility, Slack and Zoom are our (free) go-tos for messaging and video, respectively. We have a different Slack channel for each department, as well as themed rooms for team chats, document sharing, and water-cooler discussions. On Zoom, you can share screens, record webinars, and download a phone app to get your steps in while you talk.
- Promote remote pro bono opportunities. For those on Paladin, all you have to do is filter by ‘Remote Volunteers’ on your org-specific portal to find opportunities that can be done from home. For others, there are a number of organizations that host ongoing, remote casework. For example, with the Immigration Justice Campaign, you can remotely represent immigrants seeking release on bond, as many asylum seekers are eligible for release on bond while their cases are pending in immigration court and are detained in remote facilities far from available lawyers. Or, you can help the Transgender Law Clinic field requests that come in through the Legal Information Helpline, support their Spanish Helpline, and share policies and advocacy guides with trans people in prisons and jails.
- Provide extra support to lawyers. Your pro bono champions might need even more support as they transition to remote work. Reach out to folks more often to see how things are going, and offer resources to ensure they can keep assisting their clients in need. Celebrate their work through a story or testimonial to keep morale high, and maybe even share a picture of them (or you!) working from home on a case to make things feel more accessible.
- Help legal aid shift online. Reach out to your local legal services organizations or LSC grantee to find out what support they need to move in-person events online, realizing the answer might be more administrative or technical. With the help of technology like Zoom for video and Documate to easily automate intake and other forms, you can help ensure that legal aid clients can still access the assistance they need at a crucial time.
We’re all in this together, so if you have other ideas, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
5 Tips for Running a Remote Pro Bono Program was originally published in Paladin on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.