VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Access Pro Bono Society of BC (APB) and Qase launch the most technologically advanced lawyer referral service in the world.
APB’s Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) connects 20,000 people to 1,700 BC lawyers each year. Now, APB has teamed up with Qase to bring the service fully online, enabling lawyers to help clients without having to meet in person. Based on technologies used widely in health care, Qase’s platform integrates scheduling, messaging, video chat, document sharing and payment, so both clients and lawyers can work from home.
APB promotes access to justice in BC by providing free legal services to people and non-profit organizations of limited means. As one aspect of its full spectrum of free legal services, APB conducts approximately 500 half-hour, face-to-face pro bono clinic advice sessions each month in 55 cities and towns throughout BC. APB has accelerated plans to move them into Qase as well.
“The Qase platform will dramatically improve the timeliness and reach of our services as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by serving critical legal needs with the safety of online connections,” said Jamie Maclaren QC, Executive Director of Access Pro Bono. “Our lawyers, frontline staff and clients will all benefit from the cutting-edge technology. We look forward to using it to improve access to justice during the pandemic and far beyond.”
“The barriers to getting legal help are already high,” added Dan Zollmann, Qase co-founder and CEO. “We now have the technology to ensure communities continue to get the help they need without compromising their health and safety.”
About Access Pro Bono: Access Pro Bono is a British Columbia charitable organization whose mission is to promote access to justice in BC by providing and fostering quality pro bono legal services for people and non-profit organizations of limited means. APB’s LRS also provides every British Columbian the opportunity to have a free initial consultation with a lawyer about their legal concerns.
About Qase: Qase is a SaaS-enabled managed marketplace that helps people find and work with lawyers entirely online.