Research
What are the barriers to effective justice technology innovation?
In 2022, the Duke Center on Law & Tech paused running the Duke Law Tech Lab pre-accelerator in order to conduct a research study to identify the barriers to effective justice tech innovation.
The study encompassed a comprehensive review of podcasts, research studies, articles, and interviews pertaining to justice tech – tech innovation aimed at improving access to justice. We also drew on our experience running the Duke Law Tech Lab.
Interviews were conducted with a diverse group of individuals, including founders or first employees of justice tech startups (n=16), investors or potential investors in justice tech (n=5), individuals who had experienced a legal problem and sought resolution without assistance from an attorney (n=7), as well as legal professionals and public service professionals (n=17). All interviews and focus groups were conducted remotely via Zoom during summer 2022, utilizing a two-researcher approach where one researcher posed questions while the other documented the discussion. Notably, to ensure confidentiality, interviews were not recorded.
This study was approved by Duke IRB #2022-0480. This research was made possible with the support of Duke Law School and the Duke Social Sciences Research Institute. Learn more about SSRI grants for Duke Faculty.
Numerous studies have highlighted the significant lack of accessible legal services for the vast majority of people in the United States. Many individuals face obstacles in obtaining adequate legal assistance due to the high costs associated with traditional legal services, while also being ineligible for legal aid and pro bono services. Others are eligible for aid but free services are unable to fully meet the need. This justice gap represents a major market failure within the US legal services industry.
This persistent access to justice gap deepens disparities in other areas such as health, safety, socio-economic mobility, and more.
Given the broad and profound nature of this justice gap, we need a variety of solutions, and justice tech is one avenue that holds promise in addressing it.
For the purposes of this research, we recruited participants using the definition of justice tech used by the Justice Tech Association in June 2022: “companies and programs that create technology solutions to help people navigate legal matters with tech solutions that foster hope, independence, and self-empowerment and contribute to a fairer legal system." In our report, we discuss the evolving definition of justice tech and its impact on the field.
Recognizing that justice tech likely faces unique challenges, we sought to explore the following research questions to contribute to the understanding of this emerging field:
- What are the salient barriers to effective justice technology innovation within the legal industry?
- What are the hurdles facing justice tech startups, particularly amid the US’s changing regulatory landscape?
- What support and resources do startups need in order to demonstrate effective legal service delivery, essential consumer protection, and accountability to the public?
We encourage other researchers to continue to build upon this work and explore the potential societal and economic impact of justice tech.
We published our findings in October 2023.
- Executive Summary & Findings Only (coming soon)
- Full Report (PDF)
Preliminary findings were also shared by Kelli Raker at ABA TECHSHOW on March 3, 2023.