Technology Initiative

Texas Access to Justice Commission and Texas Access to Justice Foundation - 080039

Abstract Number: 080039

September 2008

The Texas Access to Justice Commission, the Texas Access to Justice Foundation and five leading law firms have given legal aid programs across the state access to new technology and an opportunity to greatly expand their capacity to help the four million Texans who live below the federal poverty line.  The Texas Access to Justice Commission's Technology Committee, composed of volunteers, including the chief information and technology officers of five major firms, recognized that without adequate technology infrastructure, legal aid providers are hampered in their ability to provide services efficiently and effectively.  To remedy this, committee members spent more than a year applying their professional expertise to survey and analyze the status of technology in 37 legal aid offices around the state. The surveys assessed not only the programs' technology needs but also how programs use technology in their day-to-day work. To further probe these questions, committee members conducted small group interviews of legal aid staff at a statewide meeting.

Working with the survey results, the committee developed a statewide technology plan to address the deficits and bring technology up to base level. Members researched the costs associated with the plan and sent a request for proposals to six vendors.  Based on the Technology Committee's recommendation, the Texas Access to Justice Foundation's Board agreed to make a one-time, bulk purchase of approximately $680,000 worth of equipment and software, and donate it to the legal aid organizations. The equipment purchased included 124 desktop computers, 181 laptops, 60 business-grade printers, 4 portable printers, 39 scanners, relevant peripheral equipment and more than 300 licenses of Microsoft Office 2007, Adobe Acrobat and Symantec.

Legal aid programs are responsible for maintaining the equipment, but the Technology Committee is working to ensure that the potential of the donation is fully realized. Working with other staff in their firms, the committee instituted a summer training program in 2007 for legal aid staff on basic and advanced Microsoft Word skills. One committee member referred this initiative to his firm's national training manager, who coordinated with other participating firms to host the trainings at the firms' facilities across the state. The firms provide all training materials, which are also made available through TexasLawyersHelp.org. The committee offered additional training in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel during the summer of 2008.

Contact Information:

 
Betty Balli Torres, Executive Director
Texas Access to Justice Foundation
512.320.0099 Ext. 105
bbtorres@teajf.org

Lisa Melton, Special Projects Manager
Texas Access to Justice Foundation
512.320.0099 Ext. 104
ldmelton@teajf.org

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