Reimagining Justice

Episode no. 62 is with Lindsay Greatorex, Community Liaison and Education Officer (West Kimberley) with Legal Aid Western Australia (LAWA). We discuss:

• Blurred Borders - legal resource kits using visual art and storytelling to explain legal concepts in a culturally appropriate way
• why the kits were developed and how the project got started
• what sticks and rocks have to do with a bail process map
• the number of kits that have been distributed and who uses them
• the process the project team undertook to get the language and the art “right”
• the importance of community outreach in remote areas
• what accounts for the kits’ universal appeal
• how an artist identified what was missing and what that meant for adoption of the project by the community
• the form of user-centred design unique to this project
• the importance of collaboration across sectors
• the key benefits from the project
  some unintended consequences of the project
• how community workers have used the resource in helpful ways in local language
• the challenges of developing a project in such a remote area three times the size of the Tasmania (including the need for flexibility, high staff turnover and lack of understanding of the English language)
• the importance of having the right people to maintain the relationships in community and to ensure that it was culturally appropriate
• the tension between investing time to save time
• how Legal Aid WA determines if the project is having impact
• how the project engages clients and increases interaction
• what Lindsay would do to expand this project if he had a magic want
• whether technology would be appropriate for this application
• future uses for the resource kits and
• Lindsay’s definition of legal innovation!

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic

Links:

• Blurred Borders
• Evaluation
• Guide to the Kimberley - Tourism Australia
• Neota Logic
• Feedspot

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

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group

Episode no. 61 features Dan Jackson, Executive Director and Jules Rochielle Sievert, Creative Director of NuLawLab, Northeastern University School of Law.

The NuLawLab is the interdisciplinary innovation laboratory at Northeastern University School of Law. It is one of the first law labs established in the US and its staff, students and stakeholders are leading the way in the emerging global Legal Design movement.

Through its programs, projects, seminars, and research the lab builds cross-disciplinary teams and community-based partnerships focused on transforming legal education, the legal profession, and the delivery of legal services.

The discussion covers:

• how the NuLawLab approaches problem-solving and collaborates with artistic people outside the walls of academia to find new ways of moving through complicated issues and to provide people with greater access to their legal rights;
• how integrating various design methodologies provides the freedom to explore and to work with community needs and values;
• what Dan and Jules see as the current and future possibilities for legal design, and what legal design shouldn’t be;
• how law students are involved in both long and short scale work;
• details of projects including RePresent game, and Stable Ground and how they had to pivot with the onset of the pandemic;
• how building trust with community organisations long term can shift the work from transactional to transformational;
• issues with innovation funding and how it could be better spent;
• how co-design centres community leadership and leverages resources to assist direct services;
• how each project and team gets started and developed (and why the lab doesn’t have an application form!);
• where project funding comes from and other important forms of sustainability;
• how Dan and Jules respond to requests to articulate the value of the lab’s work;
• the need to bridge the “language gap” between people from different disciplines;
• how black letter lawyers can approach work with people from other disciplines and why we need to work with creative fields;
• key factors for a successful innovative lab;
• how legal design enables lawyers to exercise their creativity;
• Dan’s idea about add-athons and Jules (re)definition of legal innovation!

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic.

Links:

• NuLawLab
• Neota Logic
• Feedspot

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

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group

Episode no. 60 is with Stephanie Rudolph, Deputy Director of Justfix.nyc.

JustFix is an American not for profit which believe all tenants deserve dignified housing - and that technology plays a supportive role in equipping tenants and the housing justice movement with the tools, information, and organizing power critical to this fight for racial and economic justice.

JustFix co-creates tools with tenants, organizers, and legal advocates to fight displacement and achieve stable, healthy housing for all, leveraging the power of data and technology to support individual and collective action for housing justice. 

Our discussion covers:

• Statistics and types of housing issues prevalent in New York City and the impact of Covid19;
• Perverse consequences of rent laws which disproportionately affect low income, and elderly tenants;
• Justfix services and how it's been assisting people during the pandemic including with the hardship declaration and eviction tracker tools;
• A recent and surprising change to Housing Court process;
• How Justfix ensures its online tools are as accessible as possible;
• How Justfix increases tenants’ options for interacting with courts and the ‘Who owns what?’ tool empowers tenants;
• The Design Advisory Council and how it engages both experts and community;
• The benefits of unrestricted project funding;
• What software Justfix relies on;
• How justfix got started as an organisation and how it measures its effectiveness now;
• The differences Steph has experienced betwen project-based and casework;
• Justfix’s future plans including to provide national assistance; and
• Steph’s definition of legal innovation.

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic

Links:

• Justfix.nyc
• Blue Ridge Labs
• Robin Hood Foundation Robin Hood
• Neota Logic
• Feedspot

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

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group

Episode no. 59 is with Nicole Bradick, Founder and CEO of Theory and Principle.

Our discussion covers:

• Nicole’s journey from civil rights trial lawyer to CEO of a design and development company;
• Why 2018 was the right time to start Theory and Principle;
• Whether Theory and Principle responds to or creates a legaltech market;
• Why the Mission statement is to improve legal experience for all;
• Nicole’s focus on deliverables rather than size of the company and what will enable scale given the large pipeline of work;
• How she manages a broad and diverse scope of work for legal tech companies, large law firms and non-profits;
• Current and forthcoming products Theory and Principle have built for clients and in-house (Map Engine and a project to leverage pro bono work);
• Keys to managing a multidisciplinary team of lawyers, engineers and designers;
• How they use workflows/standard operating procedures when the way they do things is constantly changing;
• How Theory and Principle creates efficiency while developing bespoke projects;
• When it’s appropriate for a lawyer to design a product and when you need a specialist designer or UX expert;
• How building a digital product is difficult even if you’ve done it before;
• Theory and Principle’s unique value proposition;
• What technology you should use to create an MVP and meet business goals;
• The limitations of grant funding for digital justice products;
• What will kill even the most phenomenal product;
• How Theory and Principle measures whether a product is successful;
• The relative importance of legaltech, legal aid and pro bono casework;
• A particularly exciting project looking at innovative ways to increase people’s income;
• How to transform legaltech from being passive to proactive and reducing cycles of poverty;
• What bothers her most about the legaltech ecosystem in the USA;
• Which part of the legal sector is developing the best solutions;
• The biggest surprise that led her to success; and
• Nicole’s definition of legal innovation!

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic

Links:

• Theory and Principle
• Legal Tune Up (Wisconsin)
• Neota Logic
• Feedspot

Episode no. 58 features Roger Smith, Author of Law, Technology and Access to Justice blog.

Our discussion covers:

• How Roger first became interested in law, tech and atj;
• How Australia led the world in legaltech;
• How cuts to legal aid meant it was imperative to turn to tehcnology;
• Why Roger started the blog in 2016 and who forms the law, tech and atj community;
• The one key issue Roger sees with developing and implementing legal technology;
• Victoria Legal Aid’s evaluation of a ‘dud’ project;
• His optimism /pessimism about technology and what it means for law;
• An early example of world-leading innovation, legal design and international collaboration from The Netherlands;
• How hackathons can be a way of supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries;
• The biggest changes Roger has observed over the past decade;
• The various clusters of innovation including remote working, reaching more people through remote information delivery; unbundling and assisted DIY, case management software, intakes and referrals;
• How case management could assist litigants;
• Why he says we reached peak justice in 2008;
• Structural issues which work against streamlining global legal delivery;
• Who are the leaders in access to justice strategy and technology;
• Whether the level of legal need will tip the adoption and demand for a global strategy;
• Roger’s views on regulatory reform (on unauthorised practice of law and fee-sharing (USA));
• The mission of the International Legal Aid Group, what will be covered in the upcoming conference and its 3 key policy achievements;
• 2 benefits of collaborating across jurisdictions; and
• Roger’s definition of legal innovation!

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic

Links:

• Law, Technology and Access to Justice blog
• International Legal Aid Group Conference
• Rechtwjizer
• Research reveals the impact of Covid 19 on tribunal hearings
• Neota Logic
• Feedspot

Episode no. 57 features Anne-Marie Cade, Founder of coaching and mediation service Divorce Right. Our discussion covers:

• why Anne-Marie pivoted from traditional legal practice to coaching and mediation;
• what conflict coaching, divorce coaching and parenting coordination actually is;
• how the structured coaching process and setting goals empowers clients to make better decisions;
• how shifting mindsets aids conflict resolution and results in a win/win situation;
• the different aspects of a divorce that many people don’t initially consider and the importance of explaining the process clearly to clients;
• the process required for clients to make decisions they can stick with;
• how different communication styles can influence the other party’s response;
• how parenting coordination helps parents navigate their co-parenting relationship post-divorce;
• the circumstances in which Courts appoint parenting coordinators;
• the best time to appoint a parenting coordinator and why;
• training and qualifications required to be a parenting coordinator;
• whether people other than lawyers can effectively undertake quasi-legal activities;
• what Anne-Marie aims to research on her Churchill Fellowship;
• the profession’s attitude to this innovation and its role in access to justice;
• Anne-Marie’s views on how technology can be most effective in the family law context including online mediation, disclosure and apps;
• how Divorce Right’s online “Divorce GPS” assists;
• how her clients have embraced online mediation and online family law forms;
• how she rebalances the traditional power imbalance between lawyer and client;
• the importance of understanding your own values and active listening as a lawyer and a client; and
• Anne-Marie’s definition of legal innovation!

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic.

Links:

• Divorce Right
• Neota Logic
• Feedspot

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

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group

Episode no. 56 is with Erin Levine, Founder and CEO of Hello Divorce. Our discussion covers:

• Erin’s journey from lawyer to legal entrepreneur and why she can’t go back;
• What Hello Divorce is and how it was inspired by Australian lawyers;
• How technology is saving clients tens of thousands of dollars;
• Key differences between traditional practice models and Hello Divorce;
• What Erin has learned about people’s behaviour during divorce;
• The process Erin undertook to develop the products and divorce navigator;
• Whether you should build software or buy it off the shelf;
• How Erin manages the issue of unauthorised practise of law;
• The challenges and benefits of expanding Hello Divorce into more States;
• Erin’s motivation for transparent pricing and subscription services;
• Key differences between marketing Hello
• Divorce and a traditional law firm;
• How to develop trust online;
• As a busy entrepreneur, how Erin maintains her wellbeing;
• The one thing that has made the biggest difference to her business;
• Erin’s definition of legal innovation!

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic.

Links:

• Hello Divorce
• FutureLaw 2021
• Neota Logic
• Feedspot

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

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group

Episode no. 55 is with Dominic Woolrych, Founder of Lawpath. Our discussion covers:

• Lawpath’s origin story;
• Its current business model including how the subscription service works;
• The difference between “BigLaw”, “small law” and “tiny law”;
• The role of law societies in supporting legal innovation;
• Which software Lawpath uses and how it makes law “proactive”;
• One thing that is stopping lawyers from improving process efficiencies;
• Unexpected findings from surveying clients about legal design;
• Whether professional regulation is inhibiting innovation and how to overcome regulatory barriers;
• Whether clients should bear some risk in exchange for more affordable legal services;
• Keys to Lawpath’s success (including raising funding, consistent income and client retention);
• The multidisciplinary nature of the Lawpath team and how that assists the business;
• Lawyers’ responses to having online reviews, and the connection with new business;
• The one thing Dominic would have done differently on his entrepreneurial journey; and
• Dominic’s definition of legal innovation!

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic.

Links:

• Lawpath
• Legal Zoom
• Neota Logic
• Feedspot 

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

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group

Episode no. 54 is with Sheetal Deo, Founder of Shakti Legal Solutions and Ethnic+. Our discussion covers:

• An image problem the legal profession has created itself;
• Her key reasons for starting Shakti Legal Solutions;
• The mechanics of its unique model;
• The resistance she faced as a junior lawyer in establishing a law firm;
• How Sheetal is helping other lawyers who want to help, bridge the justice gap;
• Who is responsible for access to justice;
• Her learning curve relating to the business of law and what assistance she received;
• How knowing your strengths and opportunities for improvement is useful;
• Her thoughts on lawyers having a duty to innovate;
• The barriers to legal innovation;
• Her advocacy for CALD and rainbow communities through Ethnic+ and other activities;
• How systems and structures, not individuals perpetuate the status quo;
• The connection between diversity, inclusion and access to justice;
• The lack of accessibility of lawyers and legal services;
• What “privilege” really means;
• How Sheetal plans to use her privilege to increase the visibility of underrepresented communities; and
• Sheetal’s definition of legal innovation!

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic

Links:

• Shakti Legal
• Ethnic+
• Qld Law Society EPIC conference
• Future Leaders committee
• PEXA
• Fred Rooney
• Professor Renee Knake Jefferson
• Neota Logic

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

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group

Episode no. 53 features Geoff Mulherin. Our discussion covers:

• The mandate of the Foundation and its practical approach to addressing legal needs;
• The importance of regular empirical evidence-based research;
• Findings from interviewing 21000 people about their legal needs;
• Where people most often go for legal assistance;
• How integrated multi-disciplinary services can help;
• Why the foundation developed interactive online legal data dashboards;
• Whether funding for justice needs redistributing across or within government portfolios;
• The need to view the justice system as a whole and reflect on who is included and excluded;
• The disproportionate amount of court resources for complex litigation as compared to legal aid budgets;
• The OECD and people-centred justice;
• The opportunity that the pandemic provides, to improve the operation of the justice system;
• The epidemiology of law and the need for “upstream strategic thinking” for justice; and
• Geoff’s definition of legal innovation!

Proudly sponsored by Neota Logic

Links:

• Law and Justice Foundation of NSW
• OECD People-centred justice
• Neota Logic

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

Twitter - @ReimaginingJ

Facebook – Reimagining Justice group