February 2005

Welcome to the Learning Connection, the Legal Services Training Consortium’s first e-newsletter. Now in our sixth year, the Training Consortium offers a regular schedule of training programs for legal aid staff in New England. Through our new e-newsletter, we now have a vehicle for keeping you informed about upcoming training events and other activities.

First, we’d like to introduce you to Legal Aid University, the legal aid community’s new online campus, which is hosting information about the Consortium. LAU, initially a Training Consortium project funded through a national Technology Innovation Grant from the Legal Services Corporation, provides learning resources to the legal aid community nationally. Read more about LAU and LAU’s new online courses.

The LAU online campus not only benefits the national community, but provides the Consortium with new capabilities that significantly expand our reach and increase our effectiveness within New England. Specifically, we encourage you to:

• Learn more about the Consortium's 2004 accomplishments
• Review our strategic objectives for 2005 and beyond
• Check out Consortium training events confirmed for 2005. We will continue to send regular reminders about upcoming events but encourage you to look to the LAU site regularly for information about upcoming training events as well as access to training registration.
• Learn more about our core curriculum
• Celebrate the scores of individuals who contributed to our successes in 2004
• Review our photo album
• Find your favorite Consortium songs
• View clips from Voices of Legal Aid, an inspirational video produced by Legal Services Law Line of Vermont that we now use in our Basic Lawyering Skills Training
  View a brief excerpt
• For more information about the Consortium, read our 2004 Year End Report

Special Thanks

We are extremely grateful to the seven lawyers who shared their personal experiences to make the Voices of Legal Aid video possible. In addition to being our “Voices,” they have also become the “Faces” on the LAU banner.

We extend special thanks and appreciation to them: Jacqui Bowman, Peter Coulombe, Monica Halas, and Jay Rose of Greater Boston Legal Services; Guen Gifford of Legal Services Law Line of Vermont; and Young Soo Jo and Sergio Carvajal of the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts.

All have made significant contributions to the Training Consortium and LAU. Check them out on the LAU homepage!