Thread by @RoundTableLaw

Recap of the first-ever @UAlbertaLaw access to justice technology competition!

Please RT and share with your #LegalTech friends!

First, an introduction to the competitors:
1/

Group 1 created a @docassemble interview that streamlined the criminal client intake process at @slsedmonton by, in some cases, weeks(!). A paper-based process happening at two physically disparate offices, between 3 different people (client, caseworker, and dayleader)... 2/

is now all handled inside a single @docassemble interview that generates an intake form identical to the ones currently used. The need was made obvious by covid, but the resulting tool is better than the pre-covid system. And the students involved and @slsedmonton are 3/

committed to continuing to develop the system and deploy it, so it will have real-world benefits for SLS and the low income criminal defendants they serve. 4/

Group 2 created a @docassemble Do-Your-Own-Divorce interview that could be used by staff in @slsedmonton's family law office to streamline the process of having clients fill out paperwork for uncontested divorces. The current process involves helping clients fill out 5/

the government's provided forms one at a time. The interview provides a streamlined intake tool that the caseworker can put the information into, and which generates data files that can then be imported into the government forms online. 6/

What the court receives is identical, the service the client receives is identical, but @slsedmonton can serve more than twice as many people in the same amount of time. And, they are committed to continuing to develop and deploy it. 7/

Group 3 created a @docassemble interview to help address systemic racism in the Calgary Police Service. Anti-racism activists, municipal politicians, the provincial Justice Minister, and police chiefs have all recognized that the complaint system is a barrier. 8/

The online forms are inconsistent, and do not ensure that the details provided by complainants are specific enough to sustain investigations and result in discipline. The groups project is a user-friendly interface that asks, in plain language, whether any of the legal grounds 9/

for complaints exist, and asks for details about each ground specifically. It then generates a formal complaint letter, and will optionally submit the complaint for you, anonymously, or with your contact details. 10/

It therefore provides an end-to-end solution to the problem of filing a police complaint. And because the relevant statues are identical across Alberta, it can be easily expanded to serve the rest of the province. 11/

Again, Group 3 was working with an elected Calgary municipal representative who is involved in the city's anti-racism efforts, and the intent is to continue to develop the tool and deploy it as a service offered by the City or or by other activist organizations. 12/

My congratulations to all three of the groups. These are all impressive, inspiring accomplishments, that promise to make tangible improvements to access to justice in Alberta. 13/

Most instructors who teach classes like this express frustration that the projects students build are seldom deployed in the real world. But here, there are people committed to deploying all three of the projects. Why is that? 14/

I believe it is because they are built in @docassemble, which is open source, free to use, extremely well documented, with a supportive user community, and can realistically be deployed with fixed expenses of ~$200CAD annually. As of today, there are 15/

more people who have the skill to help build and maintain tools that #A2J organizations in Alberta can realistically afford to deploy. If you teach a #LegalTech course in a law school, and you are not teaching @docassemble, you may be making a mistake. 16/

Only one of the three groups could be selected to represent @UAlbertaLaw at @GtownTechLaw's Iron Tech Lawyer Invitational in the Spring of 2021. That group will be representing the U of A Law community in a competition with competitors from around the world. 17/

The winner is the Calgary Police Service complaints tool. The judges felt that by providing an end-to-end solution to the problem of facilitating access to the police complaints procedure, and by doing so in a way that can be deployed across Alberta, 18/

and easily duplicated by activists, governments, police services and police regulators around the world, they are addressing an important access to justice problem, and enabling people to take concrete, effective steps to fight systemic racism in Alberta and elsewhere. 19/

A huge congratulations and thank you to all the participants, the client representatives who worked with our students, and our guest judge, @MeganPHMa.

And good luck to the winners in the Invitational in the Spring! 20/20