“I’m very excited about the future as we include communities that we have over-policed or stigmatized and under-invested in, because I think that’s where technology and justice, we create the biggest gain for the whole society, not just the communities that were left out, that now we’re bringing in.”
Claudia Johnson, LawHelp Interactive Program Manager, recently went on the Law 2030 Podcast presented by University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s Future of the Profession Initiative. This podcast focuses on the many changes afoot in the legal profession and implications for lawyers, law students, clients, and leaders across the industry.¹
Claudia was interviewed by Jennifer Leonard, Chief Innovation Officer at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, alongside Miguel Willis, Executive Director of the Access to Justice Tech Program and The Future of the Profession Initiative’s first Innovator in Residence.
The podcast covers private and public partnerships and asks how the private sectors and for-profits firms can support Access to Justice initiatives. Claudia highlighted the partnership between Pro Bono Net and AbacusNext. AbacusNext is the creator of HotDocs, one of the most robust document assembly software tools. Claudia shared:
“For over 10 years, we have managed a discount for the legal nonprofit of 70% for those software products, so that they can use them to create legal forms. And this is a longstanding public private relationship. I don’t know if there’s another example in the US of such a longstanding and collaborative partnership.”
She also encouraged the private sector to support nonprofits with cyber security needs and capacity building and talked about the benefits of incentives and collaboration, such as the partnership between CLIO, LawDroid, and others sponsoring the American Legal Tech Awards. The goal of these Awards is to highlight innovation for courts, legal aid, pro bono, and tech companies to improve access to legal services and assistance through tech.
Claudia is the LawHelp Interactive (LHI) Program Manager. LHI is the only free, national online document assembly platform used across 40 states. It allows people representing themselves to create accurate court forms simply, easily, and for free. It is also used by nonprofit legal aid programs and courts across the country to help people navigate complex processes – and to make those processes more accessible, responsive, and person-centered.
For more information and to listen to this podcast, please visit Penn Law’s website. For more information on LawHelp Interactive, visit probono.net/our-work/individuals/lhi, or go directly to their website at lawhelpinteractive.org. For nonprofits who are interested in accessing the 70% discount for LawHelp Interactive, please contact Claudia Johnson at cjohnson@probono.net.
¹ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/law-2030/id1505898171