Legal Aid

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Legal design is the application of human-centered design to the world of law, to make legal systems and services more human-centered, usable, and satisfying.  –Margaret Hagen, Law By Design

Legal design is an idea that says that the law needs to reach out to people, instead of making people come to the law.  If people in legal need are told to figure it out on their own, they’ll get nowhere.  All the resources in the world could be available for them, but if they don’t know about those resources or how to get them, then those resources are totally useless.

Photo from Pixabay.comSo a great way to apply legal design is to use it to help under-represented populations get the access to justice they need.  In Montana, where I am right now, the most marginalized groups are the Native American tribes.  Many of the tribe members have legal issues with no information about the resources available to them.

And there are several resources available.  The University of Montana offers a tribal law clinic for civil and criminal matters.  Montana Legal Services Association offers help in all civil matters, and some criminal matters for certain tribes.  There’s even a government website that puts all the basic legal information for each tribe in one place.

But many, if not most, tribal members have no idea how to access these
Continue Reading Reaching Native Tribes Through Legal Design

Inclusivity can be an overwhelming word.  It sounds like a lot more work for your organization.  It sounds costly.  And yet it’s incredibly easy.

For non-profit legal organizations, being inclusive means just continuing that overall mission of justice for all, regardless of any barriers.  In some ways, providing the LGBTQ+ community better justice is the same thing as providing larger communities better justice.  Eviction is legally the same no matter your background, heritage, or identity.  Name changes are the same tedious process for everyone.

But on the other hand, providing better justice to the LGBTQ+ community may require a bit of a paradigm shift.Continue Reading How Easy Is It To Be Inclusive?