A Very Short History of the Poverty Law Technology Phenomenon
We don't need to recreate the history of the technology phenomenon because it is already written. We recommend the following reads:
- Equal Justice and the Digital Revolution: Using Technology to Meet the Needs of Low-Income People (PDF), 2002, Julia Gordon. Although slightly outdated, Julia Gordon, formerly of the Project for the Future of Equal Justice, provides a thorough overview of technology developments in our community in her seminal work that catalogues the beginning of the use of technology and its impact on legal aid: 1999 - 2002.
- The Arlie Papers: Technology and the Future of Legal Services (PDF), 1999, John Tull. Again, outdated, but some of these concepts are still being seeded and grown.
- Future of Technology in Legal Services (PDF), 2003, Gabrielle Hammond and Ellis Jacobs. This paper discusses the possibilities and use of technology to impact on legal services.
Since 2000 the Legal Services Corporation Technology Initiative Grant program (TIG) has pumped more than $20 million into technology initiatives in the legal aid community. Although these funds are only available to LSC funded entities, the focus and direction of TIG funding has dramatically influenced the entire poverty law sector. You can find out more about the TIG program at http://tig.lsc.gov.
