Access to Justice Foundation & Commission Joint Meeting
May 17, 2024
Agenda & Materials
- Welcome and Introductions – Ms. Martin
- New Executive Assistant – Rose Kennedy-Earley
- Hendrix College Grad
- 8 years of legal support experience
- Hosted a science fiction podcast
- New Executive Assistant – Rose Kennedy-Earley
- Commission Business Items
- Approval of Joint Board Meeting Minutes
- Terms Expiring
- Rachael Borné – Non-Attorney Employed by Nonprofit
- Skye Martin – Attorney Involved in Pro Bono Efforts
- Kendall Lewellen – Center for Arkansas Legal Services
- Sen. Ben Gilmore – Member of Senate
- Executive Director Report and Joint Board Items – Ms. Abby Brenneman
- Kickoff
- Sponsorships: 15 (more pending)
- Tickets: 15 sold, plus 46 through sponsorships (61 tickets total)
- Honorees chosen:
- Hon. LaTonya Austin-Honorable, Amie Schoeppel Wilcox, Michael Kaiser, Furonda Brasfield, Southern Bancorp, Sarah Davis, Gregg Parrish, and Lemine M’Bareck.
- Silent auction launched
- AR Courthouse Kiosk Project
- 82 Kiosks deployed
- Greene, Lincoln, Miller, Jackson, Bradley, Marion, Pope, Crawford, Poinsett, Little River, Cross, Fulton, Prairie, Pike
- Legal Aid Task Force: The future of legal aid in Arkansas
- Consultant: Our former chair, Dr. Karama Neal!
- Work so far: compiling and reviewing of data: legal needs assessments, case statistical data, funding data, stakeholder input
- Next steps: Develop preliminary recommendations at the subcommittee level, share to full TF, revise
- Final recommendations due: Shooting for Nov 27th
- A few key findings thus far: rural coverage (especially Southern Arkansas), outreach to the Spanish speaking community, pro se resources, conflicts of interest, cost saving benefits of collaboration and consolidation
- Next full TF meeting: Sep 30th via Zoom
- AR Law Help
- In process of creating MOU with LAA and CALS. AATJ to take on AR Law Help website.
- Kickoff
- Program Coordinator Report–Ms. Megan Douglas (for information)
- Pro Se Forms and User Testing
- Tested In Forma Pauperis at Our House on July 31, 2024
- Static PDF form with the new design features:
- designated answer spaces
- under-line explanations
- legibility optimizations (layout, 13 pt font size)
- New in-document instructions
- New interactive online form up on AR Law Help
- Static PDF form with the new design features:
- Findings
- Fewer mistakes with online interactive forms
- Most preferred the online form
- Need more bite-sized instructions
- Need more clarification on financial terms (dependents, inheritance, etc.)
- Tested In Forma Pauperis at Our House on July 31, 2024
- Researching the implementation of a chatbot for the kiosks and arlawhelp.org
- Purpose: to lead users to the correct pro se forms and instructions
- Progress:
- Tested the idea on Formless
- Negotiating with Ai.law
- Researching other available systems and ethical considerations
- Creation of Courthouse Kiosk Internal Resource Hub
- Allows clerks and court staff to send kiosk tech requests, access quick links to printable forms, request materials (FLA flyers, signs, etc.), request copies of the Legal information vs Legal Advice guide, and request form translations
- Upcoming CLEs
- September 26th at Noon via Zoom: Estate Planning Advanced Topics
- October 17th at Legal Aid Conference: U visas, T visas, and VAWA
- Pro Se Forms and User Testing
- Language Access and Free Legal Answers Report–Ms. Chavez De Oseguera (for information)
- Hispanic Heritage Month Clinic – September 27, 2024, from 9:00 am to 1 pm at the Dee Brown Library (Family Law, Consumer Protection, U Visas & T Visas)
- CLE – U visas, T visas, and VAWA – October 17, 2024, at the Legal Aid Conference in Eureka Springs
- Presented by Edith Chavez, Amelia McGowan (Commission), Laura Ferner, with Andrea Walker (LAA)
- Free Legal Answers
- 2024 Metrics: 21 new attorneys have joined; 782 questions have been asked, and 602 have been helped.
- Virtual clinics: 15 completed this year and 6 scheduled
- In Person
- NWA AR in-person clinic completed– 18 people served
- In Central Arkansas with YLS on September 26, 2024 (in-person). Please consider volunteering for this clinic.
- In Central Arkansas with Entergy on October 21 from 11 to 1 pm (in-person)
- Language Access
- 130 translations completed and 1 pending
- Interpreter Exam Training
- Training completed
- Resulted in 10 applications to the Office of Court Interpreter Services
- Currently awaiting results
- Breakouts
- Governance Committee (if needed)
- Members: Judge Bridgforth, Ms. Prude-Wheeler, Mr. Richardson, Ms. Diggs
- Discuss vacancies
- Policy, Rules & Legislation Committee
- Rep Collins, Prof Olson, Ms. Borné, (Judge Johnson)
- Collect feedback on potential rule changes and other programs to increase number of rural attorneys
- Research & Technical Assistance Committee
- Prof McGowan, Judge Jones, Ms. Martin
- Review of ai.law Contract – Discuss the implications of implementing a chatbot (Chatbot Guide)
- Governance Committee (if needed)
- Next Meeting Dates
- 2025 TBD
- Meeting Adjourned
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