As legal services technology tools evolve, taking into account the diverse populations these tools are created to serve is crucial to their overall impact and use. Taking into account the specific needs of vulnerable communities can ensure that these tools serve an entire client population. This workshop will focus on best practices in designing technology tools and content with sensitivity to issues surrounding gender identity and expression, racial and ethnic diversity, limited English proficiency, disability and 508 compliance as well as their intersectionality. • Talley Wells, Director, Disability Integration Project, Atlanta Legal Aid Society • Xander Karsten, Project Manager, LegalServer • Camille Holmes, Director, Leadership & Racial Equity Initiative of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association • Mirenda Meghelli, LawHelp Interactive Program Coordinator, Pro Bono Net (moderator)

1. Welcome to LSNTAP’s Gender and Cultural
Competency with Legal Technology:
Considerations and Best Practices Webinar!
September 9, 2015

2. A few logistics before we start…

3. LSNTAP is recording this training and will post it to their
SlideShare account for the LSNTAP and SWEB websites.

4. Panelists and Introductions
• Camille Holmes, Director, Leadership &
Racial Equity Initiative of the National
Legal Aid & Defender Association
• Xander Karsten, Project Manager,
LegalServer
• Mirenda Meghelli, LawHelp Interactive
Program Coordinator, Pro Bono Net
(moderator)
•Talley Wells, Director, Disability
Integration Project, Atlanta Legal Aid
Society

5. Roadmap
• Culture, Equity, Inclusion and Legal Technology
• Website Accessibility and Inclusion: Olmsteadrights.org
• Gender Identity and Legal Technology
• Gendered Language and Forms
• Q&A; Discussion

6. Takeaways
• As legal services technology tools evolve, how do we ensure they
reflect the diverse populations they are meant to serve?
• What are the best practices in designing and upgrading legal
technology with sensitivity to issues like gender identity and
expression?
• What are the best practices in designing and upgrading legal
technology with sensitivity to issues racial and ethnic diversity and
disability?

7. Culture, Inclusion, Equity and Legal
Technology
Camille Holmes, Director, Leadership & Racial Equity, NLADA

8. Before How, Why?
• To affirmatively create an inclusive platform that accurately
reflects a full range of identities
•To capture accurate data
•To establish data infrastructure that will support meaningful data
analysis for more effective engagement and advocacy

9. •Diversity
•Inclusion
•Structural Oppression
•Equity
•Cultural Competence
•Cultural Humility
•Priming
Definitions

10. •Diversity is variety. It the statistical presence of a variety of
people or things.
•Kinds of diversity with respect to identity - racial, ethnic,
gender, ability, educational background, opinion, geographic,
class, occupational, sexual orientation, etc.
•Common usage tends to focus narrowly on racial or ethnic
diversity but diversity should always have a qualifier:
geographic diversity, diversity of thinking styles.
•Only groups can be diverse. People are not.
Diversity

11. •Inclusion is the action or state of including or of being
included within a group or structure. More than simply
diversity and numerical representation, inclusion involves
authentic and empowered participation and a true sense of
belonging.
Source: Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide: 7 Steps to Advance and Embed Race Equity and Inclusion
Within Your Organization, The Annie E. Casey Foundation (2014), http://www.aecf.org/resources/race-equity-
and-inclusion-action-guide/
Inclusion

12. •The normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics –
historical, cultural, educational, institutional and interpersonal –
that routinely advantage privileged groups while producing
cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for oppressed groups.
•It is a system of hierarchy and inequity. Structural oppression lies
underneath and across society, permeating its entire history,
culture and institutions.
•It perpetuates, normalizes and legitimates the effects of
oppression, while often making those effects invisible to the
narrow legal definition of unlawful discrimination.
Source: Baltimore Racial Justice Action, http://bmoreantiracist.org/
Structural Oppression

13. •Equity is defined as “the state, quality or ideal of being just,
impartial and fair.” The concept of equity is synonymous with
fairness and justice. It is helpful to think of equity as not
simply a desired state of affairs or a lofty value. To be
achieved and sustained, equity needs to be thought of as a
structural and systemic concept
Source: Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide: 7 Steps to Advance and Embed Race Equity and Inclusion
Within Your Organization, The Annie E. Casey Foundation (2014), http://www.aecf.org/resources/race-equity-
and-inclusion-action-guide/
Equity

14. •Achieving equity involves the creation and proactive
reinforcement of policies, practices, attitudes and actions that
produce equitable power, access, treatment, opportunities
and outcomes for all.
Source: Terrence Keleher, Race Forward, www.raceforward.org
Equity (cont.)

15. • Cultural humility is the “ability to maintain an interpersonal
stance that is other-oriented (or open to the other) in
relation to aspects of cultural identity that are most
important to the [person].”
• Cultural humility is different from other culturally-based
training ideals because it focuses on self-humility rather than
achieving a state of knowledge or awareness, particularly of
a culture to which one does not belong.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_humility, citing Hook, J.N. (2013). Cultural Humility: Measuring
openness to culturally diverse clients. Journal of Counseling Psychology.
Cultural Humility v. Competence

16. •Cultural humility incorporates a consistent commitment to
learning and reflection, but also an understanding of power
dynamics and one’s own role in society.
•There are three main components to cultural humility:
lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self-critique, fix
power imbalances, and develop partnerships with people and
groups who advocate for others.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_humility
Cultural Humility

17. Takeaways
• As legal services technology tools evolve, how do we ensure they
reflect the diverse populations they are meant to serve?
• What are the best practices in designing and upgrading legal
technology with sensitivity to issues like gender identity and
expression?
• What are the best practices in designing and upgrading legal
technology with sensitivity to issues racial and ethnic diversity and
disability?

18. Revised Takeaways
• As legal services technology tools evolve, how do we ensure they
reflect the diversity of populations they are meant to serve?
• What are the best practices in designing and upgrading legal
technology to accurately capture and reflect gender identity and
expression?
• What are the best practices in designing and upgrading legal
technology to accurately capture and reflect race, ethnicity and
ability?

19. Cultural Competency in Legal Aid
Generally
• To be culturally competent in legal aid means having the capacity to provide
effective legal assistance that is grounded in an awareness of and sensitivity to
the diverse cultures in the provider’s service area.
• A cultural group is identified by shared beliefs, values, customs and behaviors
that define what it is. Cultural competence is particularly important with
racially, ethnically and culturally distinct communities, and with persons who
primarily use a language other than English.
• Cultural competence is also important with persons with disabilities for whom
there are barriers to communication that might impede the formation of a
relationship of trust necessary for effective representation, and with others
who share distinct characteristics that call for heightened awareness and
sensitivity.
Source: http://povertylaw.org/sites/default/files/files/training/blst/aba_standards_-_2.4.pdf

20. Cultural Competency and its
Applications for Legal Technology
• Inclusive Design/ Universal Design: design that considers the full
range of human diversity with respect to ability, language, culture,
gender, age and other forms of human differences

21. Cultural Competency and its
Applications for Legal Technology
• Technology designed with multi-lingual functionality

22. Cultural Competency and its
Applications for Legal Technology
• Inclusive development and staffing: inclusion of racially diverse
groups important at each stage of tech project development
particularly where the final product is meant to meet the needs of
racially diverse clients

23. Website Accessibility and
Inclusion
Talley Wells
Disability Integration Project
Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc.
http://www.OlmsteadRights.org/
ctwells@atlantalegalaid.org

24. We will discuss
• Why make a website accessible?
• How to get started?
• What are the basics?
• Lessons learned
• Top Tips

25. Why accessibility and inclusion?
Federal Requirements
ADA
Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act
Expands Reach
20% website users have impairment,
including 10% of men color blind.
Promotes Inclusion
Makes Better Website

26. Where to Start: The Guide!
1. Perceivable
2. Operable
3. Understandable
4. Robust
Google Short Link to Guide:
http://goo.gl/SQcMJW

27. Section 508 vs. WCAG
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
1998 Amendment requires accessible
technology for purchases by federal
agencies (not including recipients of
federal funds)
Website Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
(WCAG)
Created by World Wide Web Consortium
Web Accessibility Initiative. Primarily for people
with disabilities who use assistive
technologies

28. WCAG 2.0 Recommendations
1. Text Alternatives for non-text content
2. Captioning
3. Create content that can be read by different devices
4. Make content visually and audibly distinguishable
5. Make all functionality available from keyboard
6. Provide users enough time to read and use content
7. Make content so as to avoid seizures
8. Make sure all users can navigate from where they are
9. Make content readable and understandable
10. Make web pages predictable
11. Help users avoid and correct mistakes
12. Maximize compatibility with current and future user agents, including assistive
technologies.

29. Top 5 Tips
1. Alt Image
2. Captioning
3. Color Contrast
4. Shifting Images
5. Formatting

30. Inclusive Language and Images
Have inclusive pictures, including
people with disabilities
Use People First Language

31. Lessons from OlmsteadRights.Org
1. Plan Ahead
Educate Yourself
Budget
Include Time for Corrections
2. Find People to Talk it Out
3. Evaluate and Re-Evaluate
4. Audit

32. For More Information
LSNTAP Guide to Accessibility http://goo.gl/SQcMJW
Comparison of 508/WCAG http://jimthatcher.com/sidebyside.htm
Web Aim Intro to Accessibility http://webaim.org/intro/
WAVE Web Aim’s Accessibility Evaluation Tool http://wave.webaim.org/
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
Section508.Gov http://www.section508.gov/

33. GENDER AND ONLINE CONTENT
CREATION
Xander Karsten, Project Manager, LegalServer

34. We will discuss
•Asking about gender:
–What are we asking and why?
•How online platforms ask for gender
•Gendered language
•Other considerations when creating online
tools and content

35. What are you asking when asking
someone’s gender?

36. Some Options...
What pronoun the user prefers?
What gender can we check for our funders?
What gender the user identifies with/as?
What gender marker is on the users legal
documents?
What primary sex-characteristics does a user
possess?

37. Do you need to know a users gender?
If not- Don’t Ask!
If you do- ask why?

38. Suggestions*
I need to know a users pronouns (to make the interface easier to navigate, funding
purposes etc)
To make this process it easier, please provide a
pronoun. OR We collect some demographic
information for funding, what pronouns do you
use?
He/Him
She/Her
Please provide: ________
I need to know a user's gender identity (i.e.: it is material to the users legal issue,
funding purposes)
What gender do you identify as? OR
We collect some demographic information for
funding, what gender do you identify as?
Open text box
I need to know the users gender marker on their legal documents
What is the sex on your birth certificate or court
order?
Male
Female
*These are my suggestions, my suggestions only-
they do NOT represent my agency, nor the entire trans communities.

39. Examples from other online platforms
•Facebook
–Provides users +50 gender identities
–Targets ads based on users pronoun preference
•Groove Shark
–“I Identify as..”

40. Examples from other online platforms
•Determine what information you are seeking
•Determine if you need the information
•Decided what, if any, questions you are
going to ask
Now what?

41. Gendered Neutral Language

42. What to change and what to avoid
•Focus on the substance or function, not the
gender
•Use formal titles rather than gendered
prefixes
•Avoid using pronouns unless you are referring
to someone whose pronoun you know
You don’t JUST have to use “their” or “(s)he”

43. “A lawyer must diligently represent his
client”
•Make the noun plural
A lawyer must diligently represent their client
•Repeat the noun rather than using a pronoun
A lawyer must diligently represent that lawyer’s client
•Omit the pronoun completely
A lawyer must diligently represent clients.
•Change to the second person
As a lawyer, you must diligently represent your client.

44. Other Considerations
•Content Testing
–Engage underserved communities to do user
testing!
•Outreach
–What faces are you using in your outreach?
–Where are you providing your outreach?

45. In general…
•Be obvious about how information will be
used
–To create an avatar
–To be plead in the actual case
– For funding purposes
•Think about what you actually need, and ask
only for that!
–Consider whether you need to use titles
–If you must ask, be open about options
•Make it easy to change information

46. For More Information:
• Talley Wells, Director, Disability Integration Project, Atlanta
Legal Aid Society, ctwells@atlantalegalaid.org
• Xander Karsten, Project Manager, LegalServer,
xkarsten@legalserver.org
• Camille Holmes, Director, Race Equity and Racial Justice
Initiative of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association,
c.holmes@nlada.org
• Mirenda Meghelli, LawHelp Interactive Program Coordinator,
Pro Bono Net, mwatkins@probono.net

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

48. Contact Information
Brian Rowe (brianr@nwjustice.org) or via chat on www.lsntap.org
Don’t forget to take our feedback survey!