Case Study: Defender Services Office achieves secure, continuous remote defense operations with Box

The Defender Services Office keeps justice going in the cloud

The Defender Services Office (DSO), part of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, supports Federal Public Defender organizations and CJA panel attorneys who represent indigent clients nationwide. When the COVID‑19 pandemic closed courthouses and offices across 94 federal districts, DSO faced the urgent challenge of keeping case research, evidence sharing, and attorney‑client relationships going while most staff and attorneys shifted to remote work and existing VPNs proved inadequate.

DSO leveraged its existing Box cloud content management system — chosen earlier for compatibility and government‑grade security — to create case and district folders for rapid, secure file sharing with investigators, experts, and field teams. Combined with videoconferencing and intentional remote check‑ins that preserved client contact and team morale, the solution kept operations running, ensured continuous representation, and allowed DSO to continue delivering equal‑justice services without interruption.

Defender Services Office

Kelly Scribner

Assistant National Litigation Support Administrator