4 things you need for a viable Law Lab

A national strategy for civil justice: Going beyond the known

In episode no. 90, my guest is Bridgette Toy-Cronin, Director, Civil Justice Centre,
Co-Director, Otago Centre for Law and Society and Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Otago. We cover:

• The access to justice issues in Aotearoa New Zealand;
• Key aims of the ‘Wayfinding for civil justice’ project;
• How the project commenced at the start of the pandemic with a hui;
• The other jurisdictions the working group looked to for guidance on this project;
• How the project is doing two related but different things at the same time;
• Factors peculiar to Aotearoa New Zealand that are facilitating the entire process;
• The diversity of the working group, and which organisations have made submissions to the consultation process;
• Early findings about what will assist going forward;
• Funding sources for this stakeholder-led strategy, and for the recommendations;
• Gaps that have been identified through this work;
• Different approaches to legal innovation in Aotearoa New Zealand;
• The intersection of customary Māori law and the mainstream justice system;
• How Māori principles are influencing procedure including process in the District Court, mediation and dispute resolution;
• How ‘innovation’ and ‘technology’ are often conflated; and
• Bridgette’s definition of legal innovation.

Proudly sponsored by Neota!

Links:

• Wayfinding for Civil Justice
• Neota Logic Solution Gallery
• Neota Logic
• Churchill Trust Project

Andrea Perry-Petersen – LinkedIn - Twitter @winkiepp – andreaperrypetersen.com.au

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group

From startup to acquisition – one family lawyer's journey of innovation

In episode no. 89 my guest is Fiona Kirkman, CEO and co-founder of FamilyProperty. We cover:

• The functionality of expert system FamilyProperty that Fiona and her co-founder (husband!) Tim developed;
• The journey of FamilyProperty from an idea to MVP, to market, to acquisition;
• The integration of FamilyProperty with global practice management software, Smokeball bringing the ‘business of law’ together with effective delivery of legal advice;
• How technology is always changing and the need for ongoing maintenance (especially when court forms change!);
• The importance of beta testing and accurate data mapping;
• Benefits of this use of technology for lawyers and clients;
• What it is about the people that adopt these new methodologies and the organisations in which they work, including their size and what that means for change management;
• The impact of the pandemic on the legal industry;
• Where you fit on ‘the innovative scale’;
• The importance of understanding users’ pain points and how technology can assist with that, as well as empower the professionals to do more of the ‘human work’;
• Plans for scaling and expansion of FamilyProperty in the USA;
• Unexpected uses of the financial aspects of FamilyProperty and a model that Legal Aid is piloting;
• Constraints that Fiona and Tim have come up against recently;
• The importance of confidentiality and cybersecurity;
• Fiona’s 3 passions and how they relate to her numerous roles;
• What lawyers will need to be effective mediators in the future; 
• What is the ‘resolution revolution’?; 
• The importance of collaborative practice and multidisciplinary input; 
• When Fiona became comfortable with being labelled an ‘innovator’; 
• What she is most proud of along the journey of both joys and challenges;
• How technology is an enabler of access to justice; and
• Fiona’s definition of legal innovation.

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic!

Links:

• Family Property
• Smokeball
• Neota Logic Solution Gallery
• Neota Logic
• Churchill Trust Project
• Survey
• Future Ready Regional and Rural Legal Conference

Andrea Perry-Petersen – LinkedIn - Twitter @winkiepp – andreaperrypetersen.com.au

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group

A tale of two law firms: how a global commercial practice supports a local not-for-profit service

In episode no. 88, my guest is Nicolas Patrick, Partner, Head of Responsible Business, DLA Piper. We cover:

• Nic’s views on the potential of technology;
• The reason for DLA Piper holding a forum on technology and access to justice in 2019;
• The problem with digitising existing processes;
• Why an international law firm without family law expertise, supports a Sydney based non-profit family law firm;
• The way Wallumatta Legal operates and how it runs an efficient practice;
• How pro bono provides insight into areas of unmet legal need;
  The different contributions that Macquarie University and DLA Piper bring to Wallumatta Legal;
• What technology is used for at Wallumatta Legal and the software it relies upon;
• Why Nic isn’t concerned about the digital divide in the context of
• Wallumatta Legal given all its services are delivered online;
• How Wallumatta Legal will improve access to justice across the sector;
• Why they recruit a ‘different kind of lawyer’ at Wallumatta Legal;
• The biggest challenge in the first six months of the firm’s operations;
• Plans for scaling and expansion of this model into other jurisdictions and areas of law;
• Why Nic thinks that there aren’t more low bono or alternative models servicing the needs of people at the lower end of the legal market;
• The potential for regulatory reform to facilitate technology use and other models to improve justice outcomes for marginalised people;
• The opportunity for firms to collaborate and establish a network of low bono and not-for-profit law firms; and
• Nic’s definition of legal innovation.

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic!

Links:

• Wallumatta Legal
• Neota Logic Solution Gallery
• Neota Logic
• Churchill Trust Project
• Survey
• Future Ready Regional and Rural Legal Conference

Andrea Perry-Petersen – LinkedIn - Twitter @winkiepp – andreaperrypetersen.com.au

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group

“Show me the money!” Funding for justice innovation

This is the third episode in a 3-part series about justice entrepreneurship. 

Part 1 provides an overview of justice entrepreneurship - 3 categories of justice entrepreneurship with real examples from each of the categories and the problem solved. 

Part 2 covers 5 key factors to maximise the likelihood of success of your justice innovation. You might be surprised to hear about some of them!

And now in part 3, we look at funding options and some of their pro’s and con’s.

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic 

Links:

• Landers
• Village Capital
• Grant connect
• Grant search
• Neota Logic
• Churchill Trust Project
• Survey

Andrea Perry-Petersen – LinkedIn - Twitter @winkiepp – andreaperrypetersen.com.au

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group

How this software company provides practical assistance to marginalised communities

In episode no. 86 I had the pleasure of speaking with John Lord, Co-founder and Chairman of long term sponsor of the podcast, Neota (formerly Neota Logic).

We discuss:

• What John wants the world to know about no-code and why;
• Some unintended consequences of no-code including hybrid working models;
• How no-code supports the democratisation of information in both commercial and public interest contexts;
• The areas of law that are suited to apps, what can be built, and how they help;
• The scope of opportunity for legal technology both in terms of market and career choices;
• The genesis of the university program that Neota now operates in 18 universities around the world and its involvement with pro bono;
• Outcomes from university ‘Law Apps’ courses including an example of how Neota’s technology resulted in homes being repaired in a remote Aboriginal community;
• How an app assists people to have criminal records expunged in the United States;
• The meaning and relevance of the name ‘Neota’; and
• John’s definition of legal innovation.

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic!

Andrea Perry-Petersen – LinkedIn - Twitter @winkiepp – andreaperrypetersen.com.au

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group