Policy Resource Hub for Transgender Rights Daily Update Instructions

The goal of this project is to maintain an up-to-date research database tracking the legal environment relating to restrictions and protections affecting transgender individuals in every state and territory in the country. The database will be a shared resource, accessible online and shared with partners (including law firms participating in this project, allied organizations, healthcare providers, and others).

Mandatory Training for Pro Bono Attorneys:

All attorneys participating in this project must view the mandatory Daily Update Process Training before starting work. The training materials can be accessed here:

[insert link to recording]

Important Reminder:

Before beginning work, please make sure your team has determined how daily updates will be handled (only one attorney should be submitting a daily update for your team's assigned state on any given day).

If you have questions about this, please consult with your firm's pro bono coordinator or email ProBono@L4GG.org for assistance.

Instructions for Daily Updates:

Step 1: Login to the Policy Resource Hub for Transgender Rights ([insert link]) and check the database to review your state's latest research. To do this:

  • Click on "Research" in the navigation menu

  • Scroll to the name of your assigned state and click the "View Research" button

Step 2: Conduct legal research to determine whether the answer(s) in the database for your assigned state are still accurate.

Important reminders for daily research:

Please remember that changes can come from many sources, and verify that your research encompasses all of those sources, including:

  • Changes to existing legislation

  • Promulgation of new legislation

  • Procedural progress in litigation/new rulings or orders

  • New rule-making

  • Newly announced orders

  • Constitutional amendments or interpretations

  • Any other relevant legal authority of which you think we should be aware

Please also verify whether any details of the relevant law/legal framework have changed. For example, it is crucial to know whether a state has changed an exception to an abortion ban to an affirmative defense, or whether new reporting requirements have been instated.

The specific daily updates questions you will be asked to respond to in the online form can be found here: Policy Resource Hub for Transgender Rights Daily Update Questions [insert link to questions].

Keep your notes and draft responses to the questions in a Word document

For each change you identify during your research, keep track of the following information in your Word document:

  • Bluebook citation

  • Public website URL where the source material can be viewed online (a free site, such as Justia or a state legislative site, rather than a paid subscription site like Westlaw or Lexis)

  • Source of change (legislative, constitutional, litigation, and/or other legal source).

IMPORTANT NOTE RE: SECONDARY SOURCES: If you use secondary sources for your research, you must independently confirm that any information upon which you are relying is up to date.

STEP 3: Fill out and submit the Daily Update Form

Please DO NOT begin this step until you have completed Steps 1 & 2 above.

The Daily Update Form can be accessed here.

PLEASE NOTE: THE DAILY UPDATE FORM MUST BE COMPLETED EVEN IF THERE ARE NO CHANGES TO REPORT.

Tools:

  • Your Westlaw or Lexis account. You will need to use their Keycite or flag tools to ensure the authorities cited remain good law.

  • Justia (publicly available resource of the current version of state codes of each jurisdiction, so that practitioners and advocates can quickly view the state code without a Westlaw or Lexis paywall. The easiest way to find a code provision in casetext is just to google the state code provision and add “justia”) 

  • Cornell Legal Information Institute (a publicly available resource of the state regulations)

  • Google Scholar (a free source for case law research)

  • Puerto Rico Code (an English translation of the Puerto Rico code on casetext.com — an English translation is also available on Westlaw)

  • Secondary sources that may help you with this research include: 

  • IMPORTANT NOTE RE: SECONDARY SOURCES: If you use secondary sources for your research, you must independently confirm that any information upon which you are relying is up to date.

Thank you for contributing to this important project. If you have any questions, please email us at probono@L4GG.org.