Rural

How Oklahoma Indian Legal Services Advocates for Native Populations

sierra-chacona@lsc.gov — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 19:28:13 +0000

How Oklahoma Indian Legal Services Advocates for Native Populations sierra-chacona… Wed, 09/25/2024 - 15:28

In this case study, learn how Oklahoma Indian Legal Services builds trust and relationships with tribal nations to deliver legal services.

Ensuring Tribal Justice: How Oklahoma Indian Legal Services Advocates for Native Populations

Grantees will learn how Oklahoma Indian Legal Services (OILS):

1. Builds trust and relationships with tribal nations through consistent in-person presence,
2. Navigates challenges and barriers to service delivery with cultural humility, and
3. Uses innovative service delivery methods like the Disaster Navigator bus.

Hear from OILS Executive Director Stephanie Hudson about lessons learned and replicable practices for LSC grantees serving Indigenous populations.

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“Over half of OILS's staff are members of tribal nations, and this diverse team helps OILS navigate the complexities of the tribal landscape."

Stephanie Hudson

Executive Director, Oklahoma Indian Legal Services

More on Providing Legal Services

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Outreach Disaster Grant Disasters Demographics Native American Rural

Traveling the Distance to Train Tribal Lay Advocates

sierra-chacona@lsc.gov — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 14:24:26 +0000

Traveling the Distance to Train Tribal Lay Advocates sierra-chacona… Thu, 08/08/2024 - 10:24

In this case study, learn how the Montana Legal Services Association expanded its legal aid capacity in rural and tribal communities through the Montana Tribal Advocacy Incubator Project.

Montana Legal Services Association: Traveling the Distance to Train Tribal Lay

Grantees will learn how the Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA):

1. Built the Tribal Advocacy Incubator (TAI) Project to expand legal aid capacity;

2. Developed an education program to recruit, train, and mentor tribal lay advocates; and

3. Addressed gaps in training and quality representation by standardizing practices.

Hear from Kathryn Seaton, Tribal Law Attorney at MLSA, and Valerie Falls Down, TAI Project Coordinator, about partnering with tribal courts to recruit, train, mentor, and support tribal lay advocates to provide legal assistance to low-income Native Americans.

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“The Montana Legal Services Association’s Tribal Advocacy Incubator Project originated with an understanding: Montana’s legal community is small, and the number of people who practice tribal law is even smaller.”

Kathryn Seaton

Tribal Law Attorney, Montana Legal Services Association

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COVID-19 Native American Outreach Rural Strategic Planning Training

Montana

Building Bridges Across the Digital Divide

sierra-chacona@lsc.gov — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 16:12:49 +0000

Building Bridges Across the Digital Divide sierra-chacona… Wed, 08/07/2024 - 12:12

Learn how Legal Services of North Florida launched mobile units to reach low income residents facing digital challenges in this case study.

Legal Services of North Florida: Building Bridges Across the Digital Divide

Grantees will learn how Legal Services of North Florida (LSNF):

1. Implemented digital solutions and outreach for increased legal aid demands;

2. Created and sent mobile units to areas recovering from natural disasters; and

3. Increased housing assistance cases and digital intake capacity

Hear from Leslie Powell-Boudreaux, Executive Director of LSNF, and Charlotte Waters, Communications Director, about measures SNF took to increase its online intake capacity, manage case logistics, and educate court personnel about digital challenge facing its clients during natural disasters.

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”LSNF’s multimedia outreach on social media, radio, and printed fliers throughout Hurricane Michael’s recovery efforts and COVID-19 contributed to a large increase in housing assistance applications, particularly for evictions.”

Charlotte Waters

Communications Director, Legal Services of North Florida

More on Providing Legal Services

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COVID-19 Disasters Intake Outreach Rural Strategic Planning Technology

Florida

Expanding Services to Bridge the Digital Divide

sierra-chacona@lsc.gov — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 15:29:17 +0000

Expanding Services to Bridge the Digital Divide sierra-chacona… Mon, 07/29/2024 - 11:29

Learn how Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota established legal kiosks and mobile legal aid offices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dialing Up: How Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota Expanded Its Services to Bridge the Digital Divide

Grantees will learn how Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM):

1. Assisted communities cut off by the digital divide;

2. Instituted resource, technology, and emergency staffing infrastructure; and

3. Established legal kiosks and mobile legal aid offices.

Hear from Anne Hoefgen, Executive Director of Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota (LSNM), and Kelly Wencl, Communications & Outreach Coordinator, about approaches to increase accessibility, rapid assistance, community partnerships, and outreach to communities cut off by the digital divide.

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"LSNM focused on ‘pandemic positives’: learning how to serve people and use resources better based on lessons gleaned from these challenges."

Anne Hoefgen

Executive Director, Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota

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COVID-19 Intake Outreach Rural Strategic Planning Technology

Michigan

Moving Beyond Lawyer-Based Solutions with Community Justice Workers

sierra-chacona@lsc.gov — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 14:49:59 +0000

Moving Beyond Lawyer-Based Solutions with Community Justice Workers sierra-chacona… Mon, 07/29/2024 - 10:49

Learn about how Alaska ��˶�� built and implemented the Community Justice Worker Program, an initiative to train community members to address their neighbors' legal needs.

Alaska Legal Services: Moving Beyond Lawyer-Based Solutions with Community Justice Workers

Grantees will learn how Alaska ��˶�� (ALSC):

1. Expanded delivery of legal assistance and advice

2. Established strategic and collaborative partnership

3. Recruited and trained community members

Hear from Nikole Nelson, former Executive Director of ALSC and founding Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Justice, about how the organization conducted outreach, recruitment, training, and case handling for its Community Justice Workers.

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"Community Justice Workers are an integral part of ALSC’s efforts to reach clients in the most remote areas of Alaska. Whereas most legal aid and pro bono attorneys operate in urban areas, CJWs often live and work in rural and tribal Alaska."

Nikole Nelson

Chief Executive Officer, Frontline Justice

More on Providing Legal Services

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Native American Outreach Pro Bono Innovation Fund (PBIF) Rural Strategic Planning Training

Alaska

LSC’s Rural Justice Task Force to Hold Oklahoma City Field Hearing

richardsons@lsc.gov — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 19:02:44 +0000

LSC’s Rural Justice Task Force to Hold Oklahoma City Field Hearing richardsons@lsc.gov Wed, 10/26/2022 - 15:02

Rural Summer Legal Corps May Training

riversj@lsc.gov — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 20:13:10 +0000

Rural Summer Legal Corps May Training riversj@lsc.gov Thu, 03/17/2022 - 16:13

May 24, 2022 | 12:00am - May 27, 2022 | 11:59pm •

Washington, DC

Conference / Forum

In-Person

Topics

Grant Program

Rural Summer Legal Corps (RSLC)

Rural

Training

Talk Justice: Episode Thirty

richardsons@lsc.gov — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:06:31 +0000

Talk Justice: Episode Thirty richardsons@lsc.gov Tue, 03/08/2022 - 10:06

Talk Justice: Episode Twenty Six

richardsons@lsc.gov — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 15:42:28 +0000

Talk Justice: Episode Twenty Six richardsons@lsc.gov Tue, 01/11/2022 - 10:42

Rural Justice Task Force

yanezc@lsc.gov — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 15:56:59 +0000

Rural Justice Task Force yanezc@lsc.gov Mon, 12/13/2021 - 10:56

Through the Rural Justice Task Force, LSC seeks to raise awareness about the civil legal needs of rural residents; profile model programs and approaches to providing effective legal services or information to Americans living in rural or remote communities; and recommend strategies for engaging private attorneys to serve rural clients.

Background

Rural-designated regions compose nearly 75% of the country. Approximately one out of every five (or 20%) of Americans call a rural community home. These are highly resilient and increasingly diverse regions, with vibrant local economies and many underrated assets. Rural communities serve as principal providers of natural resources, key originators of food supply chains and points of access to tourism and outdoor recreation.

However, rural areas face unique challenges given factors like geographic and social isolation, the frequent lack of Internet service or technology, the low density of legal-aid and other human service providers, and the distinctiveness of different rural populations. These barriers exacerbate the immense justice gap in rural areas wherein around 10 million rural residents have family incomes below 125% of the federal poverty line. According to LSC’s 2017 Justice Gap Report, 75% of rural households experienced at least one civil legal problem the prior year—including 23% that experienced six or more problems. However, only 22% of rural households contacted legal aid providers for assistance, while 86% received no or inadequate help for their legal issues. The COVID-19 pandemic will likely increase the poverty—and legal needs—confronting rural Americans.

In spring 2021, LSC’s Board of Directors enacted a Rural Justice Task Force to explore challenges associated with providing high-quality legal services in rural and remote areas. Officially launched in December 2021, the Task Force comprises an interdisciplinary group of thought leaders (listed below), including legal aid and human service providers, business and philanthropic leaders, educators, court professionals and members of the judiciary. The mission of the Rural Justice Task Force is to enhance access to justice in rural communities by:

Raising awareness about the rural justice gap;
Profiling model legal service and related programs;
Identify best practices for supporting rural attorneys and serving rural clients; and
Encourage the exchange ideas and conceptualize improvements on topics such as how to recruit and retain attorneys in rural areas, reach people with limited or no Internet or cell phone service, use videoconferencing and other technology to provide services, cultivate effective community partnerships and pro bono initiatives, and build trust with people who live in rural communities.

To read more about the work of LSC’s other Task Forces, click here.

Project Partners

The national law firm Quarles is providing invaluable pro bono project assistance to the Task Force, and Ascendium Education Group, Inc., a philanthropy and federal loan guarantor committed to increasing access to and success in post-secondary education and training, is generously supporting the project.

Rural Justice Task Force Co-Chairs

Father Pius Pietrzyk, O.P.

LSC Board Vice Chair; and Adjunct Professor of Canon Law, Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception (Dominican House of Studies)

Learn more about Fr. Pius

Rebecca Emily Rapp

Non-Director Member of several LSC Board Committees and General Counsel & Chief Privacy Officer, Ascendium Education Group, Inc.

Task Force Working Group Co-Chairs

Cynthia A. Faur

Partner

Quarles & Brady LLP (Chicago, IL)

https://www.quarles.com/cynthia-a-faur/

Fred Gants

Retired Partner

Quarles & Brady LLP (Madison, WI)

https://www.quarles.com/fred-gants/

Nikole Nelson

Chief Executive Officer

Frontline Justice

https://www.frontlinejustice.org/

José R. Padilla

Former Executive Director

California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc.

https://archive.crla.org/crla-directors.html

Alison Paul

Executive Director

Montana Legal Services Association

https://www.mtlsa.org/attorneys-staff/

Pilar M. Thomas

Partner

Quarles & Brady LLP (Tucson, AZ)

https://www.quarles.com/pilar-m-thomas/

Rural Justice Task Force Members

Samuel (Sam) David Abel-Palmer
Executive Director, Legal Services Vermont

Katherine Alteneder
Consulting Senior Strategic Advisor, Self-Represented Litigation Network

Furonda Brasfield
Managing Attorney, The Law Office Furonda Brasfield PLLC

Hon. Joel H. Bolger
Senior Justice, Alaska Court System

Elizabeth (Liz) Canney Borer
Associate General Counsel, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies

Aaron Brooks**
General Counsel – Corporate Governance, Bank OZK

Susan Brooks*
Former U.S. Representative, Indiana's 5th Congressional District

Amanda Brown**
Founder and Executive Director, Lagniappe Law Lab

Kristina Bryant
Principal Court Consultant, National Center for State Courts

Bruce Cameron
Founder and Principal, Cameron Law PLLC

Scott W. Carlson
Executive Director, Farmers' Legal Action Group

Holly Clendenen
Chief Student Services Officer, Southwest Wisconsin Technical College

Whitney Kimball Coe
Director of National Programs, Center for Rural Strategies

Erin Dearborn Coryell
Program Officer, Disaster Relief & Recovery, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies

Jen Cuesta
Rural Pro Bono Program Attorney, Colorado Legal Services

Ira Foster
General Counsel and Deputy Director, Georgia Legal Services Program

Patrick G. Goetzinger
Partner, Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson and Ashmore, LLP

Hon. Michael G. Heavican
Chief Justice, Nebraska Supreme Court

Matt Hildreth
Executive Director, RuralOrganizing.org

William C. Hubbard
Dean, University of South Carolina School of Law

Nalani Fujimori Kaina
Former Executive Director, Legal Aid Society of Hawai’i

Brittany K.T. Kauffman
CEO, Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS)

Heidi Khokhar
Executive Director, Rural Development Initiatives, Inc.

Abigail (Abby) Lawlis Kuzma^
Board Member, ��˶��; Former Halbrook Distinguished Chair of American Government, Taylor University

David A. Lash
Managing Counsel for Pro Bono and Public Interest Services, O'Melveny & Meyers, LLP

Thomas M. Maul
Of Counsel, Dvorak Law Group, LLC

Carol Mitchell
Sr. Court Policy Analyst, Court Services Division/Court Programs Unit, Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts

Hon. Margaret M. Morrow*
Former U.S. District Judge, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California; Former President & CEO, Public Counsel

Karama Neal
Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service, Office of Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Jessie R. Nicholson
CEO, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services

Tuleah Palmer
CEO, Blandin Foundation

The Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki
Bishop, Diocese of Springfield, Illinois

Taier Perlman
Staff Attorney, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley

Anthony (Tony) Pipa
Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Center for Sustainable Development, Brookings Institution

Lisa R. Pruitt
Professor of Law, University of California Davis (King Hall)

Beth Ann Richlen
Executive Director, Wisconsin Judicare

Kace Rodwell
Staff Attorney, Oklahoma Indian Legal Services, Inc.

Kevin Ruegg
CEO, Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education, Inc.

Rodolfo "Rudy" Sanchez
Executive Director, DNA-People's Legal Services

Jessica Seel
Director of Behavioral Health Initiatives & Workforce Development, South Carolina Office of Rural Health

James R. Silkenat
Member and Treasurer, World Justice Project Board of Directors

Radhika M. Singh
Vice President, Civil Legal Services and Strategic Policy Initiatives, National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA)

Michele Statz
Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus; Affiliate Faculty, University of Minnesota Law School

Rhonda Taylor
Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Dollar General Corporation

Hon. Gwendolyn (Gwen) Topping
Associate Judge, Red Cliff Tribal Court; President, Wisconsin Tribal Judges Association

Katherine Un
Organizing & Advocacy Director, National Young Farmers Coalition

William (Bill) Waddell, Jr.
Partner, Friday, Eldredge & Clark LLP

Adrienne Worthy
Executive Director, Legal Aid of West Virginia

Anne-Louise Wirthlin
Director of Access to Justice and Strategic Collaboration, Tennessee Supreme Court, Administrative Office of the Courts

Anthony Young
Executive Director, Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc.

(^) denotes member of the LSC Board of Directors; (*) denotes member of LSC's Leaders Council or (**) Emerging Leaders Council.

Additional members of the Quarles pro bono project team:

Cameron Arthur, Associate (Phoenix, AZ)
Patrick J. Bitterman, Partner (Chicago, IL)
Dawn Caldart, Director, Pro Bono (Milwaukee, WI)
Megan B. Center, Partner (Washington, DC)
Theresa DeAngelis, Associate (Washington, DC)
Kaitlyn L. Fydenkevez, Associate (Washington, DC)
Madison T. Hartman, Associate (Indianapolis, IN)
Michael Levey, National Pro Bono Partner (Milwaukee, WI)
Jennifer Michalski, Pro Bono and Learning & Development Coordinator (Milwaukee, WI)
Jared W. Miller, Associate (Phoenix, AZ)
Michael Mostow, Partner (Chicago, IL)
Grace Stewart, Associate (Madison, WI)
Shaylynn Veeder, Associate (Phoenix, AZ)

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Press Release Announcing Launch of Rural Justice Task Force

On December 15, 2021 LSC launched a new task force to address critical issues with access to justice in rural communities across the country.

Watch: Legal Aid in Rural America, January 2020

The moderated panel "Legal Aid in Rural America," featured legal services providers, academics and alumni of LSC's Rural Summer Legal Corps (RSLC), during the January 2020 Board of Directors Access to Justice Forum. RSLC is a privately funded initiative led in partnership with Equal Justice Works, which places law students at LSC-funded civil legal aid organizations to provide direct services in underserved rural areas across the United States and its territories.

Watch Now

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Listen: Challenges to Delivering Legal Services to Rural and Tribal Areas

In the sixth episode of LSC's Talk Justice Podcast, host Jason Tashea discusses the daunting challenges to delivering civil legal services in rural and tribal communities with Nikole Nelson, Executive Director, Alaska Legal Services Corp; Rudy Sanchez, Executive Director, DNA-People’s Legal Service; and Rebecca Rapp, Task Force Co-Chair, LSC Non-Director Member, and General Counsel of Ascendium Education Group.

Listen now

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Listen: The Impact of the Digital Divide on Access to Justice

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused courts—previously slow to adopt new technology—to leap into prioritizing digital services. As legal aid and court services increase the use of online tools, there is a concern that people without access to technology and high-speed internet will be left behind. This gap, referred to as the “digital divide,” is the topic of the another latest Talk Justice podcast episode.

Listen now

Rural

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