Geographic, economic and structural barriers to resolving or preventing legal issues is acute for low-income Americans.

Some 38 million Americans are living below the poverty line and only a fraction of those with legal problems seek help. Transportation barriers, shelter-in-place orders, family responsibilities, and distance and location can become obstacles in seeking legal advice, attending a pro bono clinic, or meeting in-person with an attorney. 

Pro Bono Net's Remote Legal Connect platform allows legal services providers, pro bono initiatives, courts, and community partners to rapidly build and manage a legal support program regardless of location. And we learned in early 2020 that the platform is nimble too, enabling legal services organizations to maintain operations during unprecedented shelter-in-place orders. 

Using technology developed by Pro Bono Net, the platform enables organizations to enroll, manage and pair volunteers with clients for virtual consultations, counsel and document preparation. This bridges barriers that prevent people from getting help and can assist organizations in dramatically scaling operations to serve more clients.

Learn how our partners are using Remote Legal Connect to assist individuals and families with their legal matters:

• New York
  • The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University to Launch Remote Medical-Legal Services Program Using Pro Bono Net’s Remote Legal Connect
  • Learn more about Family Legal Care's (formerly Legal Information for Families Today) Pro Bono Program and Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York's Closing the Gap Remote Legal Connect models on page 16 of the Fall 2020 New York State Bar Association's Pro Bono Newsletter
  • Watch a video in which a Family Legal Care (FLC) volunteer describes the power of the program and why working with FLC clients is so meaningful to her.
  • Brescia, Raymond H., Using Technology to Improve Rural Access to Justice (January 23, 2018). 17 Government, Law and Policy Journal 58 (2018), Albany Law School Research Paper No. 2 for 2018-2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3107803. 

• Georgia - Announcing Georgia Legal Connect: Atlanta Legal Aid Provides Remote Free Legal Assistance to  Low-Income Georgians

• Nebraska
  • How Legal Aid of Nebraska Provides Legal Services to Pro Bono Clients During the Pandemic: An Interview with Muirne Heaney, Director of Access | Pro Bono Week 2021
  • Announcing Legal Aid Connect: Legal Aid of Nebraska Provides Remote Free Legal Help to Low Income Nebraskan

• Alabama - LSA Launches AL Legal Connect Site with Pro Bono Net

The Remote Legal Connect platform was co-designed with legal aid organizations in New York, Ohio and Georgia, with support from the New York IOLA program and the American Bar Endowment. It is part of a suite of tools developed and maintained by Pro Bono Net, which for more than 20 years has worked with legal aid agencies and industry experts to leverage technology to close the access to justice gap. Pro Bono Net's reach is unmatched, with more than 200 partners nationwide.