[Nmtriblibs] Special New Mexico Librarians' Lounge: Access to Justice, Thursday 2/2/23, 12:00-12:40 PM

[Savage, Dale, DCA]

Hi Everyone,

Please join us Thursday at noon for a special New Mexico Librarians' Lounge. George Chandler and Paula Couselo-Findikoglu will present information on legal resources for low income persons and for people of limited English proficiency, low literacy, or disabilities.

George Chandler will be presenting an overview of a guide to legal resources available online for individuals who want to help low income persons in parts of the state with limited resources find assistance with legal problems.

George retired from a career as a physicist at Los Alamos National laboratory in 2001, and attended Law School at the University of New Mexico.  In his 18 years as a lawyer he practiced water and family law, and became a poverty lawyer, representing many low-income persons at no or low fees.  He served as a member of the Access to Justice Commission for 8 years, and continues to volunteer on several ATJ committees, including the Community Engagement Team that sponsors civil legal webinars.

Paula Couselo-Findikoglu will provide an overview of the "Clara" self-service kiosks and scribing services initiatives. These initiatives intend to improve court access for self-represented litigants with Limited-English Proficiency, low literacy and people with disabilities. "Clara" relies on text to speech, speech to text, voice recognition and AI technology to provide assistance to the public. Clara is an engaging avatar with a built-in friendly personality, who relies on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and human interaction to build her knowledge base. Scribing services assist self-represented litigants who are unable to read or complete court forms because they have low literacy, a limited ability to read or write in English, or a disability that prevents them from independently filling out a form. Trained court employees or volunteers provide the service. The session will include video demonstrations of both programs and a Q&A session.

Paula  serves as the Court Services Deputy Division Director at the NM Administrative Office of the Courts. She served as the Language Access Senior Statewide Program Manager until 2021. Ms. Couselo-Findikoglu is an ex officio member in the NM Judiciary of the NM Supreme Court's Equity and Justice Commission, and created the Diversity and Inclusion Department within the Court Services Division of the NM Administrative Office of the Courts in 2021. She Co-Chairs NASJE's Diversity, Fairness and Access Committee, and serves as an NCSC's Council of Language Access Coordinators liaison to COSCA's National Language Access Advisory Committee. The 2020 Access to Justice Index, published by the National Center for Access to Justice, ranked the NM Judiciary's Language Access Program under her direction #1 in the nation. Ms. Couselo-Findikoglu is a nationally recognized expert in the language access field, and has spearheaded multiple initiatives and technologies to advance court access for LEP and low literacy individuals, and people with disabilities interacting with the NM State Courts.

Dale Savage - NMSL is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: New Mexico Librarians' Lounge
Time: Feb 2, 2023 12:00-12:40 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/889311899?pwd=MXpZeEticlIxWEdRNFN6a1ZDWm1CZz09

Meeting ID: 889 311 899
Passcode: nmsl


Dale Savage
Development Bureau Chief
NM State Library
1209 Camino Carlos Rey
Santa Fe, NM  87507

Office: (505) 476-9720 / (800) 340-3890
Fax: (505) 476-9761

NOTE NEW EMAIL ADDRESS
dale.savage at dca.nm.gov<mailto:dale.savage at dca.nm.gov>


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