Web Based Document Assembly Project

Ohio State Legal Services Association - 040022

Abstract Number: 040022

April 2004

Ohio State Legal Services Association received a 2002 Technology Initiative Grant (TIG) to create a web-based document assembly server that would employ Lexis-Nexis' HotDocs application to enable legal aid attorneys and pro bono attorneys to complete, assemble, and file template based legal documents online. This document assembly project automates the creation of frequently used legal documents through the use of issue specific templates that are developed by legal services programs. Users would select a template and then enter document specific information through a web mediated interview process that collects a user's name, address, and other document specific information. Upon completing the interview process, the HotDocs will compile the document and merge the template to create a rich text file which can be further edited prior to printing or conversion to PDF. The attorney or self-represented litigant can then file the document. Document assembly offers a number of benefits as it facilitates an office wide standard for legal documents and improves the likelihood that a self-represented litigant will have correctly completed the forms.

In 2003, Ohio State Legal Services Association received another TIG to host a national production server that expanded this project from a statewide to national project. The implementation of this project is being coordinated with ProBono.Net, Kaivo, and Capstone Practices to equip statewide websites with the ability to allow attorneys to complete, print out, and eventually e-file legal forms online. State specific legal document templates covering a range of common legal issues are currently being created and deployed in Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Montana, Minnesota, and California. To learn more about this project, visit the HotDocs Work Group that is hosted by LStech.org through the links below.

Contact Information:

Pam Lammon
Ohio State Legal Services Association
555 Buttles Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Phone: (614) 221-7201
Fax: (614) 221-7625
Email

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