Baker Donelson has been named a 2014 Beacon of Justice Award winner by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA).
The Beacon of Justice Awards recognize law firms that have devoted significant time and resources to creating and implementing innovative strategies to improve life outcomes for low income individuals. Award winners were selected by criteria assessing increased access to representation through the utilization of original ideas, tools and technology to create new delivery models and initiatives.
Baker Donelson is being recognized for its development of the innovative OnlineTNJustice platform, which provides free legal services via the internet to low income Tennessee residents. A joint project of the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services and the Tennessee Bar Association, OnlineTNJustice.org was developed with the financial support and technical expertise of the information technology team in the Memphis office of Baker Donelson. It serves as a virtual walk-in clinic where clients can request brief advice and counsel about a specific civil legal issue from a volunteer lawyer.
The website was created to eliminate barriers, such as geographic location, work schedule, or family obligations, that keep those in need from receiving free legal help. It also was developed to expand pro bono services in rural areas of the state and to provide an alternative source of assistance for legal aid clients who are eligible for services but turned away due to an agency’s lack of resources.
Baker Donelson also licenses this software to other states free of charge, and it is being implemented across the country.
The Beacon of Justice Award winners will be formally honored at the NLADA Exemplar Award Dinner on Thursday, June 26, 2014, at The Mayflower Renaissance Hotel in Washington,
D.C.
Additional information on Baker Donelson’s Pro Bono efforts is available at www.bakerdonelson.com/pro-bono.