1. Beyond Online Intake: Looking at Triage and
Expert Systems
December 4, 2013

2. Presenters
Mike Grunenwald
DC Bar Pro Bono Program
Gwen Daniels
Illinois Legal Aid Online
Gordon Shaw
Massachusetts Justice Project
Liz Keith
Pro Bono Net
Mirenda Watkins(Moderator)
Pro Bono Net

3. What We Will Cover Today
• What is triage and what’s it’s relationship to online
intake?
• Why online intake and triage? How does it help lowincome individuals and members of the communities
served by legal service organizations and courts?
• How has technology and expert systems enabled and
changed the way online intake and triage is
approached?

4. Defining the Terms: Triage
Triage- varying definitions exist, triage tools
can be advocate and public facing

5. Defining the Terms: Intake
Intake –can be described as the process a legal
non-profit (including a pro bono project) uses
to accepting or rejecting clients based on
articulated criteria. It includes data collection,
review, acceptance or denial, notification to
the applicant, and referrals for all.

6. Defining the Terms: Online Intake
Online intake= online application tool + online
intake system

7. Some Technology Tools Used for
Online Intake and Triage
• A2J Author (http://www.a2jauthor.org/drupal/)
• Neota Logic (www.neotalogic.com/technology)
• Form Router (http://www.formrouter.com/)
• Wufoo (http://www.wufoo.com/)

8. 2013 TIG-Funded Online Intake
and Triage Projects
TRIAGE
• Montana Legal Services Association
• Pine Tree Legal Assistance (Maine)
• New Mexico Legal Aid
ONLINE INTAKE
• Center for Arkansas Legal Services
• Legal Services of Greater Miami
• Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Corp
• North Penn Legal Services
• Legal Services Law Line of Vermont
See: http://tig.lsc.gov/sites/lsc.gov/files/TIG/pdfs/TIG-2013grants.pdf

9. Resources
•
American Bar Association’s Standards for the Provision of Civil Legal Aid: http://www.probono.net/link.cfm?22268
•
ABA Model Rules Revisions Include Technology - What Attorneys Must Know - See more at:
http://www.lawlogix.com/blog/aba-model-rules-revisions-include-technology-what-attorneys-mustknow#sthash.iWyazgVA.dpuf
•
The Access to Justice “Sorting Hat” — Towards a System of Triage and Intake that Maximizes Access and Outcomes, 89
Denv. U. L. Rev. 859 (2012): http://www.zorza.net/Sorting-Hat.pdf
•
Triage Protocols for Litigant Portals: A Coordinated Strategy Between Courts and Service Providers
http://ncsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ctadmin/id/2045, Prepared by Tom Clarke, National Center for State
Courts. Richard Zorza, Self-Represented Litigation Network, Katherine Alteneder, Self- Represented Litigation Network
•
Using Technology to Enhance Access to Justice, Harvard Journal of Law & Technology. Volume 26, Number 1 Fall 2012:
http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/articles/pdf/v26/26HarvJLTech241.pdf
•
Previous LSNTAP/PBN Online Intake Webinar Recordings and Materials: http://lsntap.org/blogs/online-intake-webinarsummary and http://www.slideshare.net/LSNTAP/online-intake-best-practices-webinar
•
Claudia Johnson, LawHelp Interactive Program Manager, cjohnson@probono.net

10. Two Online “Triage” Projects in
Washington, D.C.
Mike Grunenwald
Senior Project Specialist
DC Bar Pro Bono Program

11. Two “Triage” Projects in DC
•DC Bar Pro Bono Program
•Non-LSC funded program
•Partnerships with Georgetown Law and Neota
Logic to develop two apps

12. Consumer Debt/Bankruptcy App
•Problem: Creditors harassing consumers
•Initial solution: Document assembly app
•Expanded solution: Clinic referral and prescreening app

13. Consumer Debt/Bankruptcy App
•Bankruptcy Clinic pre-screening
•Complete debtor checklist for user to take to
clinic

14. Consumer Debt/Bankruptcy App
•First draft developed by team of Georgetown
Law students
•Built on Neota
Logic platform
•Development continuing with support from
Neota Logic

15. Consumer Debt/Bankruptcy App
•Online intake hasn’t taken root in DC yet
•Vision: App will be a model for clinic prescreening/intake for other DC providers
•Works for clinic = works for organization?

16. LawHelp.org/DC Concierge App
•Users have two ways to access resources:
•Folder/subfolder search
•Text search

17. LawHelp.org/DC Concierge App
• Challenge: Is there a better way to help
users find what they need in LawHelp?
•Solution: “Concierge” app to help users find
resources relevant to their specific situations

18. LawHelp.org/DC Concierge App
•Started (relatively) small – 1 subtopic
•Georgetown Law externship student built first
draft using Neota Logic
•Neota Logic continuing to support
development

19. LawHelp.org/DC Concierge App
• Lessons learned so far…
•Grand long-term plans

20. Massachusetts
Legal Resource Finder
Gordon Shaw
Executive Director
Massachusetts Justice Project

21. Intake Timeline
1970s-80s -
Emphasis was on face to face (by appointment)
intake. Programs also put a premium on having many satellite
offices.
1990s -
Intake became phone-centric. The model in the 90s was
the phone during set intake hours staffed by professional
intake workers or screeners. This is the dawn of hotlines.
Mid 2000s-
Programs began offering on-line intake systems.
➢ While On-Line Intake offers a solution to the access problem that is the
curse of phone-centric intake systems, it does nothing to address the
problem of volume. In fact, it could potentially make it worse – as you
now have created access 24/7

22. 2012 and Beyond:
➢
The dawn of client-centered web
based triage tools

23. In 2012, MJP received a TIG to develop the
Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder
(LRF).
What is it?
A web-based tool that will connect low
income persons to the Massachusetts
legal resources that correlate with their
specific legal issues

24. Why is it needed?
•
Every day legal aid programs are flooded with
requests for
assistance.
The vast majority of these applicants will be turned away with
nothing more than a referral to self-help resources or other sources of assistance
– often after long waits in a phone queue.
•
Programs are stretched thin and this extends to screening, intake and hotline
resources as well.
•
Massachusetts has a wide range of programs and resources to help low income
people with legal needs. Until now, there
has not been a centralized
way to direct people to these resources.
•
The goal of the LRF is to give some relief to our over burdened intake systems
while at the same time provide consumers with a quick and accessible way to
find out what resources exist with respect to their legal issue.

25. How will it work?
➢ A user will complete a short on-line form with a limited number of questions
about their legal problem and household demographics. The LRF will then
search a database and give back to the user information that could include any and
all of the following:
○
If the issue is one which a Massachusetts legal services organization accepts for legal assistance, it
would provide a link to their on-line application and/or provide information on how to call to complete an
intake.
○
Live links to relevant self-help resources and court forms including automated Massachusetts forms on
LHI and I-CAN.
○
Additional resources that exist for obtaining legal assistance such as lawyer of the day programs and
other court-based help, lawyer referral services, other non profits, and government agencies.
➢ Participating programs will set-up profiles in the database that
includes selection of the legal issues they want referred to their
intake systems. Programs will be able to turn issues “on or off” as needed – providing real
time updates to program case acceptance/priorities

26. Who is building it and how?
• The Massachusetts Justice Project received a
2012 TIG and is working with the Massachusetts
Law Reform Institute’s Statewide Websites
Project on the design and implementation of the
LRF.
• Search engine is being built in DRUPAL

27. Online Intake, Triage and Expert
Systems in Illinois
Gwen Daniels
Director of Technology Development
Illinois Legal Aid Online

28. Illinois Statewide Online Access System
• Beta with Illinois’ LSCfunded programs
•Public Benefits
•
Foreclosure
•
“Always Divert” areas
• Expanding in 2014 to 2
non-LSC-funded programs

29. Why Triage Before Intake?
• Programs are tired of
having to say NO
• Divert people to the best
AVAILABLE resource
• Divert people from
applying when the
program will not help
them (low priority)
• Push high-priority cases
through

30. Statewide Online Access System
Three Components:
• Triage and Intake on
IllinoisLegalAid.org
• Admin Console on
IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org
• Drools Rules Engine
• Fourth component coming 2014:
Rules Builder on
IllinoisLegalAdvocate.org

31. Why This Approach?
• Integrates with existing
technologies
User
Profile
Update
user
profile
Set of
rules
Execute
a rule
Scan
rules
Find a
match
• Flexible to support
multiple agencies with
varying priorities,
service areas, and
requirements
• Independent of website
and case management
platforms

32. How It Works
• Pop up
offers triage
when
available
• Programs
determine
availability

33. Triage Example
• Rule generates
a question
• Rule generates
help display
• Answer to a
question:
– Sends user to
intake
– Sends user to
ILAO resources
– Sends user to
another
question

34. Diversions

35. Next Steps
• Deeper integration
with systems
• True statewide
integration
• Data analysis to refine
triage rules

36. Data analysis
can lead to:
▪ Better rules
▪ More
automated
case
acceptance
▪ Less time
saying no

37. Resources
• On IllinoisLegalAid.org, search
for public benefits or mortgage
foreclosure in zip code 60602 to
test; use name NTAP Tester
• Drools:
http://www.jboss.org/drools/
• Documentation will be
published in early 2014
• For more information:
gdaniels@illinoislegalaid.org or
312-977-9047 ext. 13

38. New Mexico Legal Aid
2014 Triage Pilot

39. Project Overview
•2013 TIG to New Mexico Legal Aid
• Program partners: Five other legal aid agencies in
New Mexico, New Mexico Courts and State Bar of
New Mexico
• Technology partners: Pro Bono Net and Neota Logic
System
•Goal: Pilot the creation and implement of a robust
statewide online triage program for the major civil
legal issues faced by low income individuals and other
vulnerable populations

40. Project components
•Triage tool for advocates
•Triage tool for individuals in
need of legal assistance
•New self-help and legal
education content for triage
system users
•Data reporting service
Scalable architecture to facilitate replication by
other jurisdictions in the future

41. Triage Tool for Advocates
•Advocates will be able to
enter data about the litigant
and assess relationship of
case to:
 Program priorities
Intake requirements
Broader advocacy
strategies
•Based on these factors, the
system will provide set of
recommended options

42. Triage Tool for the Public
• Info about self-help resources and
services, where available
• Referrals to appropriate to legal aid
agency for intake, including several
“next actions:”
 Email and printable summary with
interview results and recommended
actions
 Option to email a standardized intake
request in .csv format and interview
results to a recommended referral
organization
•
“Widgetized” for use on any website

43. Technology Approach
•Triage expert platform - powered by Neota Logic
System
 Rules can be created and modified by non-technical agency
staff
• “LawHelp Triage” server at Pro Bono Net to run Neota
Logic System
 Extensible to host triage interviews for other states and
integrate with other SWEB APIs in the future
 Support for sharing and customization of rule sets
•Systems to integrate SWEB API feed with Neota Logic
interview and capture anonymized data for reporting

44. “Phase II” Opportunities
•Deeper integration with case management and
downstream systems
•Ability to apply standard visualization tools to analyze
interview data and make adjustments
•Calls to outside data sources to help drive the
interview
•Calendaring integration to have user scheduled into
an organization’s next available appointment
•More extensive reporting interfaces to provide data
to outside agencies/systems

45. For More Information:
•Ed Marks
Executive Director
New Mexico Legal Aid
edm@nmlegalaid.org
•Liz Keith
LawHelp Program Manager
Pro Bono Net
lkeith@probono.net

46. THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING
TODAY!
More information at www.lsntap.org

47. Contact Information
Brian Rowe (brianr@nwjustice.org) or via chat on www.lsntap.org
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