Navigating the OMLN Website

Welcome to the Online Media Legal Network. This page contains information about how to use the OMLN website to find clients and matters.

Click here to see a video demonstration of the major features of our website.

If you have additional questions or require assistance, please contact OMLN staff (members@omln.org).

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For Individual Members

Signing into the OMLN website:

  1. Point your browser to www.omln.org.
  2. Click on the “Sign In” tab in the upper right-hand corner.
  3. At the sign-in page, enter your username and password and click the “login” button.
  4. Once you have successfully signed in, you will be taken to the OMLN Home Page. Click on the <<Member Section>> link in the upper right-hand corner to view your matters. If you haven’t selected any matters, you should go to the Available Matters page to request a matter.
  5. On the Available Matters page, you can see the best matches for you based on information in your OMLN account (which you can edit via the My Account tab). You also can see available matters in your state and in your areas of expertise.
  6. To view more information for any of the listed matters, click on the Matter ID.
  7. To view a more detailed list of available matters, click on the “more” link in each box.
  8. Tabs across the top of the page allow you to switch your view from My Matters, to Available Matters, My Messages, Search (for matters), or My Account. To go to the page that you want, click the appropriate tab.

 

Requesting the opportunity to review a matter:

If you are interested in potentially taking on one of the matters listed, you will need to request an opportunity to “review” the matter. If your request is approved, you will have access to additional client information, including contact information, and will have 7 days to clear conflicts on the matter and make a decision as to whether to request assignment of the matter.

  1. To request review, click the link to “Request More Info” next to any matter on the Available Matters page or in the Matter Info box when viewing an individual matter. An OMLN staff member will need to approve your request (we’ll endeavor to do this as quickly as possible).
  2. You will receive notification on the My Messages page when your request has been approved or denied. In the meantime, that matter will be listed in the Matters I’d Like More Information About box on your My Matters page.

Note: Another lawyer may already have requested review for some matters (as indicated under matter “status”). If that is the case, your request will be placed in the queue and if the other member does not request assignment of the matter within 7 days, you will be given an opportunity to review the matter.

Requesting assignment of a matter:

Once you have been given permission to review a matter, you will have 7 days to perform a conflicts check, contact your potential client, and decide whether to request assignment of the matter.

  1. To view additional details concerning the matter and client, click on the My Matters tab to get to the page listing the Matters I’m Reviewing. Click on the Matter ID number for any matter you are reviewing and you will have access to the details you will need for your conflicts check (if you need more information, please let us know at members@omln.org).
  2. You should also feel free to reach out to the client if you have any additional questions about the matter you are reviewing.  The clients will be prepared for an attorney to contact them, and we encourage such contact so that both you and the client can determine if there is likely to be a good working relationship.
  3. To cancel your review of a matter without requesting assignment, click the “Decline Matter” link in the Matter Info box.
  4. To request assignment during your period of review, click the “Accept Matter” link. You will receive a message that the matter has been assigned to you, and the matter will appear in the box for Matters Assigned to Me on your My Matters page.
    Note: After you are assigned a matter, you will receive a letter from OMLN staff confirming the assignment within a few days. In the meantime, please feel free to get started working on a matter and contact the client at your earliest convenience.
     

Completing a matter or terminating an assignment:

  1. The matters that are assigned to you are listed in the box Matters Assigned to Me on the My Matters page. Click on the Matter ID to see a page that shows you the details for the client and matter.
  2. When you are finished working on a matter, you should mark the matter as complete. Click the link “Mark as Complete.” A staff member from OMLN will contact you for feedback on your OMLN experience.
  3. You also will have the opportunity to evaluate the matter and your experience working with the client. The matter will then be listed in the Matters I’ve Completed box on the My Matters page.
  4. If at any point prior to completion you need to terminate your work on a matter or your relationship with a client, you will need to contact OMLN staff directly to be taken off the case.

Viewing your messages:

  1. You will see a summary of the five most recent messages in the messages box on your My Matters page. To see more messages, click the “more” link at the bottom of the box; this will take you to the My Messages tab.
  2. Alternatively, you can click on the “My Messages” tab to be taken directly to all of your messages. New messages will appear in bold while messages that you have already read will not be in bold.
  3. To view the complete message, click the link (underlined text) to be taken to a page where you can see the full message.
  4. Delete messages by clicking on the “delete” link in the Action column.

Updating or changing your account information:

  1. Click on the “My Account” tab to view your account settings.
  2. To add or change the information for your name, organization, address, and legal experience, type into the text boxes.
  3. To select the state where you are located, click on the box, and you will see a list of states that you can scroll through to make your selection(s). To see more of the list, use the scrollbar on the right. Select your state(s) by clicking on the state name.
  4. To make changes to the list of your legal expertise, check the boxes to the left of each area of expertise.
  5. To make changes to the list of jurisdiction where you practice law, check the boxes for each jurisdiction, using the scrollbar on the right to see the full list.

Searching for matters:

  1. To search for matters, go to the Search page by clicking on the “Search” tab at the top of your page.
  2. To search by Matter ID or keyword, type in the Matter ID number or keyword in the box.
  3. To search by jurisdiction, check the boxes next to the state or jurisdiction for which you’d like to search. Use the scrollbar on the right of the box to see the full list.
  4. To search by practice areas, check the boxes for the areas of expertise desired.
  5. To get search results, click the “Search” button.
  6. Search results will be displayed at the bottom of your screen. Scroll down if necessary to see the full list of results. To do a new search, clear the fields by clicking the “clear all” button. If you are not getting any results from your search, try using fewer fields of search.
  7. To see a list of all available matters, click the “Search” button without selecting any fields.

To logout:

  1. To logout of your OMLN account, click the “Log Out” tab at the top of the page.
  2. A dialog box will ask “Are you sure?” Click “Yes” to logout.
  3. If the logout link is not visible, you may need to go to the <<Member Section>> first.

 

For Pro Bono Coordinators and Managers      ^top^

Signing into the OMLN website:

  1. Point your browser to www.omln.org.
  2. Click on the “Sign In” tab in the upper right-hand corner.
  3. At the sign-in page, enter your username and password and click the “login” button.
  4. Once you have successfully signed in, you will be taken to the OMLN Home Page. Click on the <<Member Section>> link in the upper right-hand corner to view your matters. If you, or lawyers at your firm / organization, haven’t selected any matters, you should go to the Available Matters page to request a matter.
  5.  Tabs across the top of the page allow you to switch your view from Our Members to Our Matters, Available Matters, Our Messages, Search, or Our Account. To go to the page that you want, click the appropriate tab.
  6. On the Our Matters page, you can see the matters under review or assigned to attorneys in your organization.
  7. On the Available Matters page, you can see the best matches for your attorneys based on the information in your OMLN account. You also can see available matters in your state(s) and in your firm’s areas of expertise.
  8. To view more information for any one of the listed matters, click on the Matter ID.

Requesting the opportunity to review a matter:

If you are, or a member of your firm/organization is, interested in potentially taking on one of the matters listed, you or one of your members will need to request an opportunity to “review” the matter. If the request is approved, you will have access to additional client information, including contact information, and will have 7 days to clear conflicts on the matter and make a decision as to whether to request assignment of the matter.

  1. To see current matters available for review and assignment, go to the Available Matters page by clicking on its tab. On that page, you will see available matters that are best suited to your firm/organization.
  2. To view a more detailed list of available matters, click on the “more” link in each box.
  3. To view more information on a particular matter, click on the Matter ID number for that matter. You will be taken to a page that describes the client and matter in greater detail.
  4. To request review of a matter on behalf of an attorney in your organization, click the box under the column “Request matter for” and select the name of the attorney by clicking on it. Submit your request by clicking the “Request” button. An OMLN staff member will need to approve your request (we’ll endeavor to do this as quickly as possible).
  5. You will receive notification on the Our Messages page when your request has been approved or denied. The attorney also will receive notification in his/her messages page. In the meantime, that matter will be listed in the Matters Requested for Review by Our Firm box on the Our Matters page.

Note: Another lawyer may already have requested review for some matters (as indicated under matter “status”). If that is the case, your request will be placed in the queue and if the other member does not request assignment of the matter within 7 days, you will be given an opportunity to review the matter.

Requesting assignment of a matter:

Once a member of your firm/organization has been given permission to review a matter, they will have 7 days to perform a conflicts check and decide whether to request assignment of the matter.

  1. To view additional details concerning the matter and client, click on the Our Matters tab to get to the page listing your matters. Click on the Matter ID listed in the Matters Under Review by Our Firm box. This view will show you the identity of the client and any other details you will need for your conflicts check (if you need more information, please let us know at members@omln.org).
  2. To cancel review of a matter without requesting assignment, click the “Decline Matter” link in the Matter Info box.
  3. To request assignment during the review period, click the “Accept Matter” link. You will receive a message that an attorney in your organization has been assigned to this matter, and the matter will appear in the box for All Matters Assigned to Our Firm on the Our Matters page.

Note: After you, or one of your members, are assigned a matter, you will receive a letter from OMLN staff confirming the assignment within a few days. In the meantime, please feel free to get started working on a matter and contact the client at your earliest convenience.
 

Completing a matter or terminating an assignment:

  1. The matters that are assigned to attorneys in your organization are listed in the box All Matters Assigned to Our Firm on the Our Matters page. Click on the Matter ID to see a page with the details for the client and matter.
  2. When work on a matter is completed, the matter should be marked as complete. Click the link “Mark as Complete.” A staff member from OMLN will contact the assigned attorney for feedback on his/her OMLN experience.
  3. The matter will then be listed in the box All Matters Completed by Our Firm on the Our Matters page.
  4. If at any point prior to completing a matter you need to terminate work on the matter, you will need to contact OMLN staff directly to be taken off the case.

Viewing your messages:

  1. You will see a summary of the five most recent messages in the messages box on the Our Matters page. To see more messages, click the “more” link at the bottom of the box; this will take you to the Our Messages tab.
  2. Alternatively, you can click on the “Our Messages” tab to be taken directly to all of your messages. New messages will appear in bold while messages that you have already read will not be in bold.
  3. To view the complete message, click the link (underlined text) to be taken to a page where you can see the full message.
  4. Delete messages by clicking on the “delete” link in the Action column.

Updating or changing your account information:

  1. Click on the “Our Account” tab to view your account settings.
  2. To add or change the information for your name, organization, address, and legal experience, type into the text boxes.
  3. To select the state of your address, click on the box, and you will see a list of states that you can scroll through to make your selection. To see more of the list, use the scrollbar on the right. Select your state by clicking on the state name.
  4. To make changes to the list of your legal expertise, check the boxes to the left of each area of expertise.
  5. To make changes to the list of jurisdictions where you or your members practice law, check the boxes for each jurisdiction, using the scrollbar on the right to see the full list.

Searching for matters:

  1. To search for matters, go to the Search page by clicking on the “Search” tab at the top of the Available Matters page. The Search page will allow you to search by Matter ID, by keyword, by jurisdiction, or by area of expertise.
  2. To search by Matter ID or keyword, type in the Matter ID number or keyword in the box.
  3. To search by jurisdiction, check the boxes next to the state or jurisdiction for which you’d like to search. Use the scrollbar on the right of the box to see the full list.
  4. To search by practice areas, check the boxes for the areas of expertise desired.
  5. To get search results, click the “search” button.
  6. Search results will be displayed at the bottom of your screen. Scroll down if necessary to see the full list of results. To do a new search, clear the fields by clicking the “clear all” button. If you are not getting any results from your search, try using fewer fields of search.
  7. To see a list of all available matters, click the “Search” button without selecting any fields.

To logout:

  1. To logout of your OMLN account, click the “Log Out” tab at the top of the page.
  2. A dialog box will ask “Are you sure?” Click “Yes” to logout.
  3. If the logout link is not visible, you may need to go to <<Member Section>> first.