Earlier
this
month,
the
Legal
Services
Corporation,
the
largest
funder
of
civil
legal
aid
in
the
United
States,
held
its
annual
Innovations
in
Technology
Conference
in
Phoenix.
This
year’s
conference
was
particularly
special
for
two
reasons.
For
one,
it
was
the
conference’s
25th
anniversary,
as
well
as
the
25th
anniversary
of
the
Technology
Initiative
Grants
program
that
was
the
genesis
of
the
conference.
For
another,
this
year’s
conference
followed
the
official
retirement
in
November
of
Glenn
Rawdon,
the
person
who
got
the
conference
started
in
the
first
place
and
who
oversaw
it
all
these
years.
As
program
counsel
at
the
LSC
since
1999,
it
was
Rawdon’s
job
to
assist
legal
services
programs
with
their
technology
efforts,
manage
the
LSC’s
technology
grants,
and
make
this
conference
happen
every
year.
Listen
to
this
episode
in
the
player
above
or
watch
below
on
YouTube.
Rawdon
is
our
guest
this
week,
as
he
sits
down
with
host
Bob
Ambrogi
to
share
the
origin
story
and
evolution
of
the
two
groundbreaking
LSC
initiatives
he
helped
launch
and
oversee
—
the
TIG
program
and
the
ITC
conference
(long
known
as
the
TIG
conference).
From
the
conference’s
humble
beginnings
as
a
gathering
of
32
people
in
New
Orleans
in
2000,
Rawdon
explains
how
it
grew
into
what
many
now
consider
the
premier
global
event
focused
on
technology
and
access
to
justice,
this
year
drawing
700
attendees
and
150
presenters
from
around
the
world.
He
also
discusses
how
the
TIG
program,
which
started
with
a
$7.5
million
budget
funding
mainly
website
projects,
evolved
to
support
more
sophisticated
technology
initiatives
aimed
at
expanding
access
to
legal
services.
Drawing
from
his
unique
background
as
a
solo
practitioner
who
embraced
technology
in
the
1980s
to
improve
his
own
efficiency,
Rawdon
shares
insights
about
the
initially
tentative
but
gradually
expanding
role
of
technology
in
legal
aid
organizations.
He
discusses
key
milestones
like
the
development
of
document
assembly
tools,
online
intake
systems,
and
statewide
legal
information
websites
—
innovations
that
helped
transform
how
legal
aid
is
delivered.
Thank
You
To
Our
Sponsors
This
episode
of
LawNext
is
generously
made
possible
by
our
sponsors.
We
appreciate
their
support
and
hope
you
will
check
them
out.