Best practice guidelines for community legal information VLAF Online Legal Information Guidelines Joh Kirby Executive Director Victoria Law Foundation
Best practice guidelines for community legal informationVLAF Online Legal Information Guidelines
Joh KirbyExecutive Director Victoria Law Foundation
About the Victoria Law Foundation
• State statutory body
• Focus on Victorians
• Advocacy for plain language and communication skills for lawyers
• Helping them understand the law • Grants• Education• And…
…information
What I will cover
• VLAF online legal information guidelines• How they came about• Take you through the guidelines• Questions?
To start a question
Ever tried to find the answer to a legal question online?
• Could you find what you wanted?
• If you did, could you understand it?
• Was it current? Could you tell?
• Did it relate to your jurisdiction?
• Did it tell you where to get more help?
• Or did it make you want to…
VLAF Online Legal Information Guidelines
• Developed to address these issues
• Ultimately improve the quality of legal information available to the public online
• Reduce duplication
• Improve coordination
What does this have to do with plain language?
Effective communication
• Plain language fundamentals
• Online you need more
• The whole picture
Their genesis• New government perceived duplication in community legal information
• In December 2012 held a forum on issue (government, not-for-profits attended)
• Some duplication, some necessary
• Overall poor quality
• Asks VLAF to consider issues and come back to them
Who is this VLAF?• Victorian Legal Assistance Forum
• Made up of lead Victorian legal bodies• Share ideas• Coordinate
• Allows for sector wide consideration of ideas
VLAF’s approach• VLAF establishes working group
• Draws together experts in• Online communication• Communication• Representatives of key legal bodies
Objectives• Establishing best practice guidelines that set out standards for the
development and distribution of resources that reduce duplication and improve efficiency.
• Reference tools
• Involve grant makers
• Newsletter
• Training
The Guidelines
Guideline 1Conduct research before undertaking
a new project
Conduct research before undertaking a new project
Guideline 1
• Do other similar resources exist?
• Is there a real need for the project?
• CLEAR Database and Everyday-law.org.au, grant bodies
Guideline 2Online legal information should be audience-focused
Online legal information should be audience-focused
Guideline 2
• Who is your audience?
• Tailor your project to your audience’s knowledge and skills
• Consult with your identified audience- Don’t make assumptions- Use reference groups and evaluation
Online legal information should be audience-focused
Guideline 2
• ‘Lead’ audience through information – simple to complex
• Use plain language- Consider literacy levels- Provide contextual information
Guideline 3Websites and other digital formats must meet appropriate
usability and accessibility guidelines
Usability and accessibility guidelinesGuideline 3
• Easy to use for all users - well designed, visually appealing
• Accessible to users with a wide range of disabilities (WCAG 2.0, Level AA standards)
• Evaluate and test at all stages to check that it meets your audience’s needs
Usability and accessibility guidelinesGuideline 3
• Clear easy-to-use navigation -
Usability and accessibility guidelinesGuideline 3
• Clear easy-to-use navigation - clear menus,prominent search tools
Usability and accessibility guidelinesGuideline 3
• Clear easy-to-use navigation, clear menus,prominent search tools
• Work on multiple browsers
Usability and accessibility guidelinesGuideline 3
• Clear easy-to-use navigation, clear menus,prominent search tools
• Work on multiple browsers
• Designed to work on multiple formats
Usability and accessibility guidelinesGuideline 3
• Clear easy-to-use navigation, clear menus,prominent search tools
• Work on multiple browsers
• Designed to work on multiple formats
• HTML over PDFs
Guideline 4Ensure the information is accurate
Ensure the information is accurateGuideline 4
• Check information is correct- Legal – use an appropriately qualified lawyer- Non-legal – don’t make assumptions
• Use reference groups made up of relevant experts to assist
Guideline 5The currency of the information should be clearly noted
The currency of the information should be clearly noted
Guideline 5
• Include the date that the material is legally accurate to
Guideline 6Maintain material
Maintain your materialGuideline 6
• Review your content at least every 12 months
• Let your audience know how often it is reviewed
• Tell your audience the last date it was reviewed
Maintain your materialGuideline 6
• Review your content at least every 12 months
• Let your audience know how often it is reviewed
• Tell your audience the last date it was reviewed
• Review the effectiveness of your site- Google analytics- Ask your users
Guideline 7The jurisdiction of the legal information should be clear
The jurisdiction of the legal information should be clear
Guideline 7
• Tell your audience where the material relates to
Guideline 8Link to other relevant resources
Link to other relevant resourcesGuideline 8
• Provide access to material produced by other organisations- Reduces duplication - Improves user experience
• If linking to primary information explain its purpose
Guideline 9Provide access to a legal glossary
Link to a legal glossaryGuideline 9
• Explains unfamiliar words
• Victoria Law Foundation has developed a plain language glossary that can be used by other organisations
Guideline 10Use standard terms where possible
Use standard terms where possibleGuideline 10
• Car/automobile (taxonomy)
• Builds on knowledge
• Gives your reader the best chance of understanding what they are reading
Guideline 11Websites that contain community legal information should
include information on how to obtain further advice and support
How to obtain further advice and supportGuideline 11
• Stop the ‘referral roundabout’
• Not just legal advice
• Need to include information on next steps
• Range of services
• Contact details (but check they are accurate)
Guideline 12Raise awareness of new online legal information resources
Raise awareness of new online legal information resources
Guideline 12
• Let people know what you have produced
• Share your experience
• Promote your publication to your audience
• Host videos of YouTube (not just your website)
• Search engine optimization (SEO) – meta data
• Work cooperatively
In summary
In summary• Effective communication online must consider the whole picture
• Small steps can make a big difference to your users
• Tell people about the guidelines
• Are you meeting the guidelines?
For more informationwww.victorialawfoundation.org.au/betterinformation
•More information on guidelines•Resources for guidelines•Plain language database (Clarity Journal articles)
Questions?
For more information visit:www.victorialawfoundation.org.au/betterinformation
Joh KirbyExecutive DirectorVictoria Law [email protected]
For more information visit:www.victorialawfoundation.org.au/betterinformation