Legal Aid Technology Conference to Be Held in San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO – The 17th Annual Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) Conference, sponsored by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), will be held on January 11-13 at the Wyndham San Antonio Riverwalk, 111 E. Pecan St., San Antonio, Texas.
The TIG Conference is the nation's largest gathering of experts in using technology to address the civil legal needs of low-income Americans. A record-breaking 300 people are attending this year’s event to share ideas and innovations for how technology can improve the delivery of legal services and expand access to justice. Participants include software developers, technology consultants, legal aid staff members, leading academics, and lawyers from a variety of practice settings.
“Technology can play a critical role in making the legal system more accessible to people who cannot afford a lawyer,” said LSC President James Sandman. “The TIG Conference brings together the best minds in the field to share ideas and recent innovations, to stimulate creativity, and to plan the next wave of advancement in legal aid technology.” He will be giving the luncheon address at the conference.
Conference highlights include:
- “User Design in Today's World – Lessons for the Legal Services Community from the Private Sector.” Microsoft Corporation's Assistant General Counsel and Senior Accessibility Manager will share their perspectives on why usability is critical to technology’s success and how the legal services community can ensure that no one is left behind as technology increasingly plays a role in improving access to justice. (Wednesday, January 11, 8:30-10 a.m. CST)
- “Improving the Statewide Website Network.” Through support from the Ford Foundation, LSC has worked closely with EY Intuitive, a digital consulting firm, to conduct a comprehensive assessment of statewide legal aid websites. These sessions will lay out the practical findings of the survey and offer recommendations for creating content-rich sites that provide a high-quality user experience. (Thursday, January 12, 8:30-9:45 a.m. and 10-11:15 a.m. CST)
- “Rapid Fire Tech: A Show and Tell of Technology Projects and Ideas.” This plenary will feature a series of short, fast-paced presentations highlighting innovative technology projects and ideas benefiting legal aid clients. (Thursday, January 12, 4:30-5:30 p.m. CST)
For the first time, LSC will live-stream several sessions via Facebook Live. To view these sessions, visit LSC’s Facebook page during the conference. For a complete list of session descriptions and presenters, visit the 2017 TIG Conference page.
TIG Conference Twitter hashtag: #LSCTIG
LSC’s Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) program was authorized by Congress beginning in 2000. Since that time, LSC has made more than 600 grants totaling more than $57 million to civil legal aid organizations across the country. It has supported projects to develop, test, and replicate technologies that improve client access to high-quality legal information and assistance for self-represented persons. It has also helped legal aid programs enhance their information technology infrastructure.