Remote Trainings During COVID-19 - Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP)

The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) has facilitated remote legal aid trainings for hundreds of attorneys and advocates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March, we shared a Best Practices document with strategies we have learned from providing remote legal assistance to asylum-seeking families since 2015. Since then, several members of our staff have been invited to speak on webinars about how to provide remote legal services in light of COVID-19.

On June 9, Staff Attorney Jasmina Nogo facilitated a panel titled “Providing Remote Pro Se Legal Services” that was hosted by the Pro Se Working Group: a collaborative of lawyers and advocates from immigrants’ rights groups around the country. Panelists included representatives from Centro Legal de la Raza and the Southern Poverty Law Center, among other organizations. The panel was attended by 183 people, and resources discussed during the panel can be accessed here.
On May 29, Immigration Paralegal Nicole Tan and Co-Executive Director Swapna Reddy and presented at a training hosted by the Immigration Advocates Network, titled “Strategies and Challenges to Providing Legal Services During COVID-19.” Over 200 advocates participated in the training, and tips and tools from the webinar can be accessed here.
In March and April, Co-Executive Director Conchita Cruz and Legal Director Dorothy Tegeler each presented on panels hosted by the Skadden Foundation, as part of a webinar series on working remotely in the public interest. Each of their panels were attended by 50-100 current and former Skadden Fellows.
On June 12, Co-Executive Director Swapna Reddy also spoke on a webinar hosted by Equal Justice Works for fellows working in a variety of legal aid contexts across the country.

Among other topics, our staff members discussed ideas for using technology creatively to develop remote relationships with clients. They also highlighted the benefits that remote legal aid can offer for asylum seekers, who often live in isolated areas and fall through the cracks of the traditional legal model. ASAP will continue to train advocates across the country in the months to come.

To view more of ASAP’s strategies for providing remote legal aid, see our Best Practices document.

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