Improving access to justice is one of today’s greatest challenges, and here lawyers and engineers have much to contribute.
Legal Tech basically has two engines that are driving it with tremendous force in the legal sector: (i) the mission of automating legal processes and improving the delivery of legal services in general; and (ii) the second and most important, and this is where technical profiles come in, improving access to justice.
That is why today I am going to talk to you about how access to justice is being improved with the help of the development of applications, software and Legal Tech tools.
Why does access to justice need to be improved?
That it needs to be improved is self-evident.
The slowness of proceedings is staggering, the number of cases left unresolved overwhelming, and if you have ever faced regulations, legal questions or legal proceedings, you will know that laws, in general, are the least user friendly thing you can come across. So, we will talk about how justice is being improved and how technological tools are the cornerstone of this transformation.
Here we go.
Why do people not have access to justice?
Consider this: as Richard Susskind recently said, more people have access to the internet than access to justice.
But we cannot settle for the mere fact that this is so; we must delve into the reasons that lead us to this situation. When you know the reasons, you can find a solution. Let’s see what they are:
1- First, because many citizens do not know that they are facing a legal problem. There is widespread ignorance about our rights and the protection that the law provides us.
For this reason, projects such as The Technolawgist decisively address social challenges from the legal perspective. From our outlet, we carry out intensive outreach work on law, innovation and legal issues linked to technology that help lawyers and citizens in general to better understand the legal framework in areas as relevant as the digital sphere.
Any other example? JustFix.nyc
Do you rent your home? Then you know first-hand all the problems that arise in the context of tenancies. In New York, 90% of landlords have recurring legal advice (in other words, they have a go-to lawyer). By contrast, 90% of tenants lack one.
JustFix.nyc aims to remedy this disparity and make it easier for tenants to document situations and conflicts with their landlords. It allows them to easily draft letters and notices with legal content, and to store factual evidence. In short, to build and preserve the account of facts that will be the basis for the defense of their rights in future proceedings.
2- Second reason why there is not enough access to justice. Because we are full of preconceived ideas about the judicial system. Faced with a conflict or a setback, it is common to think “in life sometimes you lose and sometimes you win.” Justice is politicized, it is not independent, it will give me more headaches than real solutions, it is not worth the money, time and effort it will cost me to take legal action. And so small and large abuses are perpetuated.
Here, applications or automated systems that facilitate the initiation of legal actions will make it possible to channel and increase the number of cases that receive a response.
Before the summer, a report was published stating that 1,000,000 problems with legal content arise per day worldwide and only between 80% and 90% of them end up being resolved through the channels of the legal systems.
3- Third reason. Because many citizens cannot financially afford to seek the protection of the rule of law. In judicial systems such as that of the United States, justice is tremendously expensive and those who do not have sufficient resources are hopelessly excluded. This is one of the recurring topics at American Legal Tech conferences. In these circumstances, pro bono advice becomes decisive.
In Spain, although the situation is not as extreme as in the United States, we also have our own challenges. Fortunately, we have platforms such as Fundación Pro Bono España.
Access to justice and Legal Tech
The Legal Tech sector is taking on the challenge of solving this situation.
The thing is that, very often, law is not an attractive field of work for those who are not fans of legal matters to the core, like me, and we need to convince more engineers and technicians to join our cause and help us devise and implement solutions.
Legal Tech tools are, after all, technological tools that require programmers, engineers and technical profiles for their development and operation. Like any other startup in the technology field, these are projects that need large investments and great talent to see the light of day and achieve success. For this type of solution to exist and, above all, for those who need them most to know about them, a collective effort is required.
Without the collaboration of engineers and jurists, change in the legal sector is not possible.
