Closing the Gap is a partnership between the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York (LASNNY), Legal Assistance of Western New York (LawNY), Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County, Inc. (VLSP) and Pro Bono Net with the goal of closing the urban/rural gap in legal services in northeastern and western upstate New York using innovative technology and cross program collaborations. The first Rochester area attorney volunteers were trained earlier this month, earning free CLE credits through VLSP in exchange for taking a rural client assignment via webcam.
This program is focused on consumer debt and eviction cases, so in addition to logistics/computer
training, the pro bono attorneys receive training and support materials in these substantive areas.
The volunteer attorney can work from their home or office – wherever they have a computer with
internet access, a webcam and microphone. The video chat feature – they tell me it’s easy.
Because some of the cases require urgent attention (emergency evictions), it is helpful for a volunteer attorney to sign up for particular days to be on call.
The attorney will communicate via webcam with the client who will have a computer connection at one of the LawNY outlying offices (Bath, Elmira, Geneva, Ithaca, Jamestown or Olean).
To volunteer for this exciting new Closing the Gap opportunity, contact Scott MacPherson at VLSP:
smacpherson@vlsprochester.org.
Written by Nora A. Jones
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