Ford Funds Analysis, Toolkit for Improving Legal Aid Websites
The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) released today a comprehensive report and accompanying toolkit for its Statewide Website Evaluation Project. The project assessed the quality of centralized legal information websites in every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories.
Statewide legal aid websites provide users seeking information about civil legal matters with important tools and resources. They provide basic information about common legal issues and connect users to legal aid providers, self-help centers, and lawyer referral services in their community. Increasingly, these sites also offer automated court forms that guide self-represented litigants through creating necessary legal documents.
The Statewide Website Evaluation Project assessed the quality and usability of these legal information websites. LSC, working closely with its consulting partner, the digital design and research group EY Intuitive, assessed these sites using criteria spanning nine focus areas: ease of navigation, accessibility, visual design and iconography, plain language, content presentation, mobile friendliness, community engagement, language access, and user support. . .