IMP LEMENTATIO N —G  enerating empathy so an official uses his or her discretion in the client’s favor. —S  haring a back-story, e.g. why supporting documents are impossible to obtain. — Explaining that denial violates local, national, or international law. —C  onvincing an official that it is in his or her best interest to resolve a case. •L  itigation. Where cases cannot be resolved administratively, paralegals may need to support litigation—generally run by lawyers. Paralegals might gather client testimony, assist with drafting documents, or attend hearings, among other things. •R  eferrals. Sometimes only lawyers or non-legal service providers will be able to assist. RELATED RESOURCE Related resources to help guide organizations in decision-making about expansion: • “Scaling up Services,” Refugee Rights Toolkit, Asylum Access • See the box on Kenya’s CONCISE coalition in section 9.7 •C  ollective cases. Paralegals may group similar cases to resolve them together, such as by collecting an entire village’s application forms and taking them to a regional office, setting up group meetings with officials, accompanying leaders to meetings, or assisting community groups in drawing up an advocacy plan. Collective cases can be ideal when the same issues come up repeatedly—such as multiple clients experiencing excessive delays, wrongful rejections, or the same arbitrary requests from officials—or when resources are limited. This should not be confused with collective litigation, which may also be a tool that your project considers using to address patterns of unlawful activity that paralegals uncover through their casework.  ee also 9.6 Collective Cases and 10.9 Advocacy Strategy: S Supporting Strategic Litigation •  Empowerment initiatives. These might include “know your rights” workshops, participatory theatre, or leadership coaching. The next chapter explains each of these categories in detail. Some of these strategies can be used either with an individual case or with a group of cases. Litigation and advocacy can be used to help individuals or to resolve a series of claims, often with the aim of legal or policy reform. Questions to ask when choosing a course of action might include: •  What can the client do him or herself to resolve a case? What additional information can we provide to make that possible? •D  oes the project have enough time and money to take the course of action? •W  hat approach might be most likely to make it easier to work with authorities? • Do referral options exist for problems the project cannot help with? •H  ave many clients come with the same issue? If so, can we resolve multiple cases together? 100 | A C O M M U N I T Y- B A S E D P R A C T I T I O N E R ’ S G U I D E : D O C U M E N T I N G C I T I Z E N S H I P A N D OT H E R F O R M S O F L E G A L I D E N T I T Y