Georgetown University Law Center on Tuesday announced the launch of a new fellowship that will embed technologists and software designers in state, local and tribal courts in order to develop tech-based solutions to improve access to the judicial system.
The Judicial Innovation Fellowship intends to gather a cohort of fellows and integrate them into courts throughout the country starting in September 2023, Georgetown Law said. The fellows will research pain points in court infrastructure that harms public legal access to the courts and craft new software addressing those issues.
"Technology innovation represents the most cost-effective, widely beneficial opportunity for courts to meet the needs of their 21st-century users," said Judge Jennifer Bailey of Florida's Eleventh Judicial Circuit, who will serve as an adviser for the program. "The Judicial Innovation Fellowship represents a real chance to move forward."
The new program will be led by Schmidt Innovation Fellow Jason Tashea and Georgetown Law professor and program co-founder Tanina Rostain. The fellowship is being funded by the New Venture Fund and the Pew Charitable Trusts, and will be based in the Justice Lab at Georgetown University Law Center.
Fellows will seek to improve how the public interacts with the courts online, simplify particular processes like changing a court date, and address how courts collect and use data.
"The Judicial Innovation Fellowship program will be a catalyst for fundamental organizational and cultural changes in state, local and tribal courts to improve the civil and criminal systems," Rostain said in a statement on Tuesday. "Courts are foundational to the administration of law in our democratic system, but are failing users and the public every day."
In its announcement, the university noted that 55 million people experience 260 million civil legal problems in the U.S. each year, and 92% of low-income individuals' legal needs go inadequately met. Additionally, legal services organizations must turn away many qualified individuals due to a lack of capacity.
"As more and more people come to court without a lawyer, we, as court leaders, need smart, innovative solutions to improve how we interact with the public," Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack said in a statement Tuesday. "The Judicial Innovation Fellowship helps courts move toward a more innovative and equitable future."
Open applications for courts and fellows will begin early next year. The university will hold an information session for courts in January and a session for technologists and designers in February.
"The goal is not to incorporate technology into courts simply for technology's sake, but to embed technology and design into court administration and services to improve the ease with which users interact with courts, make courts more equitable and increase court transparency and accountability," Rostain said.
Other similar tech-driven initiatives this year include a partnership between pro bono management platform Paladin and case management company LegalServer with Legal Aid Chicago, the city's largest legal services organization.
--Editing by Alanna Weissman.
Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Law360
|The Practice of Law
Access to Justice
Aerospace & Defense
Appellate
Asset Management
Banking
Bankruptcy
Benefits
California
Cannabis
Capital Markets
Class Action
Colorado
Commercial Contracts
Competition
Compliance
Connecticut
Construction
Consumer Protection
Corporate
Criminal Practice
Cybersecurity & Privacy
Delaware
Employment
Energy
Environmental
Fintech
Florida
Food & Beverage
Georgia
Government Contracts
Health
Hospitality
Illinois
Immigration
Insurance
Intellectual Property
International Arbitration
International Trade
Legal Ethics
Legal Industry
Life Sciences
Massachusetts
Media & Entertainment
Mergers & Acquisitions
Michigan
Native American
Law360 Pulse
|Business of Law
Law360 Authority
|Deep News & Analysis
Healthcare Authority
Deals & Corporate Governance Digital Health & Technology Other Policy & ComplianceGlobal
- Law360
- Law360 UK
- Law360 Pulse
- Law360 Employment Authority
- Law360 Tax Authority
- Law360 Insurance Authority
- Law360 Real Estate Authority
- Law360 Healthcare Authority
- Law360 Bankruptcy Authority
- Products
- Lexis®
- Law360 In-Depth
- Law360 Podcasts
- Rankings
- Leaderboard Analytics
- Regional Powerhouses
- Law360's MVPs
- Women in Law Report
- Law360 400
- Diversity Snapshot
- Practice Groups of the Year
- Rising Stars
- Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar
- Sections
- Adv. Search & Platform Tools
- About all sections
- Browse all sections
- Banking
- Bankruptcy
- Class Action
- Competition
- Employment
- Energy
- Expert Analysis
- Insurance
- Intellectual Property
- Product Liability
- Securities
- Beta Tools
- Track docs
- Track attorneys
- Track judges
This article has been saved to your Briefcase
This article has been added to your Saved Articles
Georgetown Law Program Will Embed Technologists In Courts
By Matt Perez | November 29, 2022, 4:38 PM EST · Listen to article