Helping People Help Themselves: Pro Se Assistance Initiatives

Helping People Help Themselves: Pro Se Assistance

InitiativesAl Schwartz

Executive Director - [email protected]

About CARPLS

Overview of CARPLS

Legal aid hotline

50,000 client services in FY09

Primarily telephone-based service

Advice desks operated at 4 locations in the City

Thirty attorneys on staff, many part-time

CARPLS Advice Desks

Domestic Relations Advice Desk

Collection Advice Desk

Municipal Court Advice Desk

Administrative Hearings Advice Desk

Software support

Recent redesign of our case management software to support volunteer attorneys

Provides detailed canned answers to specific legal questions

Written specifically from the point of view of a hotline attorney

Incorporates CARPLS’ philosophy and policies

Domestic Relations

Advice Desk

Domestic Relations Desk: Overview

In operation for 7 years

Monday through Friday from 9:00AM -1:00PM

30th Floor, Daley Center

3 Staff Attorneys, 1 Intake Coordinator & 1 Paralegal

5,500 client services in FY 09

Domestic Relations Desk: Intake

First-Come-First Served, No appointments

Quick Screen Performed by Intake Coordinator on CLASS case management software

Check for conflicts of interest

Confirm eligibility for service (up to 200% of the Poverty Level)

Domestic Relations Desk: Consultations

Consultations conducted by experienced family law staff attorneys

Average Consultation: 45 Minutes

Services include:

Legal Advice (52%)

Drafting of Legal Documents/Self-Help Packets (38%)

Legal Aid Referrals (10%)

Domestic Relations Desk: Self-Help

Targets simple, uncontested family law matters (pre and post-decree)

Petitions for Dissolutions = 80% of all self-help drafting

Divorce by Agreement

Divorce by Publication

“No Issues” Divorce

Joint Simplified Divorce

Domestic Relations Desk: Outcomes

Draft 80 Self-Help Divorce Packets Per Month/1,000 Self-Help Divorce Packets Per Year

88% Clients follow through with Self-Help Divorce by filing their Petition for Dissolution

97% Clients who file their Petition for Dissolution obtained a divorce

Average Court Case: 7 weeks

Collect Advice Desk

Collection Desk: Overview

In operation for 3 years


Courtroom 1401, Daley Center

2 Staff Attorneys, 1-2 Law Student/Attorney Volunteers & 1 Intake Coordinator


Collection Desk: Consultations

Consultations conducted by staff attorneys and law student & private attorney volunteers


Services include:

Legal Advice (85%)


Collection Desk: Outcomes

Main Outcome: Educate clients about their rights and responsibilities

Bank Freeze Exemption Granted: 88% of Desk cases

Wage Garnishment Exemption/Reduction Granted: 43% of Desk cases

Citation to Discovery Assets Dismissed: 95% of Desk cases

Municipal Court Advice Desk

Municipal Court Desk: Overview

In operation since 1987. Formerly run by Chicago-Kent Law School. CARPLS took over management in March 2008


Room 602, Daley Center

3 Staff Attorneys, 1-2 Law Student/Attorney Volunteers & 1 Intake Coordinator


Municipal Court Desk: Intake

First-Come-First Served, No appointments

Quick Screen Performed by Intake Coordinator on CLASS case management software

Check for conflicts of interest

Confirm eligibility for service (up to 300% of the Poverty Level)

Municipal Court Desk: Consultations

Consultations conducted by staff attorneys and law student & private attorney volunteers


Services include:

Legal Advice (85%)

Legal Drafting/Self-Help Packets


Go Bono: Benefit to CARPLS

Develop relationship with firms

High payoff - 20 volunteers at once per firm

Low-impact on overhead - volunteering done from their office not ours

Go Bono: Challenges during pilot I

Conflicts of interest

Business concerns

Getting high-level leaders at firm to support and drive project

Much more on-site supervision required than we initially thought

Go Bono: Challenges during Pilot II

Getting individual attorneys to comply with our training requirements

Loss of interest after initial burst

Identifying leaders within the volunteer base

Other volunteers

‘Random volunteers’Individuals who fill a specialized need

Foreign-licensed lawyer who provides supervised assistance to Spanish speaking clients

Paralegal volunteer to assist with some intake work

Challenges with individual volunteers

Difficult to manage

Supervision required on a

Lessons learned: Volunteer programsGo Bono will biggest impact to our program in terms of serving greatest number of clients at lowest cost

Go Bono also requires much more work on the front end to get it going

Individual volunteers outside of Nightline and Go Bono are rarely worth the time commitment required by staff

Lessons Learned: Go BonoTakes much more on-site staff time than we initially thought

Biggest issue for firm leadership is conflicts of interest

Biggest issue for CARPLS is getting firm leadership to commit a sufficient number of volunteer attorneys on a regular basis