Holistic Support for Public Defense Clients

Established in 2011, the Harris County Public Defender’s Office (PDO) provides criminal defense, support, and resources for the communities of the greater Houston area, and is widely regarded as one of the finest public defenders’ offices in the country.

When the PDO created a Holistic Services Program in May 2020, the goal was to assess the needs of clients and expand the offerings and support available. Their case management system at the time was dated, cumbersome, and unable to properly store necessary case data.

A stop-gap solution of Excel spreadsheets and shared folders wasn’t cutting it, either, but then the PDO found LegalServer - and hasn’t looked back.

LegalServer allows us to see a comprehensive view of services provided along with their outcomes and impact, and a framework for scaling those services to a larger cross section of our client population.

Since onboarding to LegalServer in May 2021, all cases, matters, and issues can be tracked within the same system. The Holistic Services Program looks beyond public defense to provide more complete help to clients, and LegalServer is a plus there, too.

All users can submit requests for assistance through LegalServer across the PDO teams with a click of a button, allowing anyone working with the client to readily have access to all services requested, along with case handler information and status updates. This functionality provides the office with complete transparency around all services provided to any client at any time.

“We can now review data to target clients most in need of additional support, beyond their existing criminal defense,” says Erin V. Russell, Holistic Services Program Manager at the Harris County PDO.

To see how LegalServer can help your public defender’s office better serve your clients, contact us for a demo today.