In this second part of this series, we look at how AI-driven technologies can empower those legal aid clients who may be most in need
It’s hard to overstate the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to have on helping low-income individuals achieve better access to justice. And for those legal services organizations (LSOs) that serve on the front lines, too often without sufficient funding, staff, or technology, AI presents perhaps their best opportunity to close the justice gap. With the ability of AI-driven tools to streamline agency operations, minimize administrative work, more effectively reallocate talent, and allow LSOs to more effectively service clients, the implementation of these tools is essential.
Innovative LSOs leading the way
Already many innovative LSOs are taking the lead, utilizing new technology to complete tasks from complex analysis to AI-driven legal research. Here are two compelling examples of how AI is already helping LSOs empower low-income clients in need.
The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands: Automating expungements for economic mobility
In Tennessee, where a large number of individuals are eligible to expunge their criminal records, the Legal Aid Society (LAS) of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands “previously handled expungement petitions manually — sometimes typing them, sometimes even handwriting them,” says Zachary Oswald, Senior Deputy Director of Client Services at LAS. “While the work was important, it was extremely time-consuming and felt like a process ripe for automation. Recognizing the scale of the issue across the state and the potential impact we could have, we set out to find a more efficient solution.”
In response, paralegal Mustafa Enver led the team in building an AI solution that could successfully identify, draft, and file expungement petitions. Their program taught ChatGPT, a publicly available generative AI (GenAI) platform, to read anonymized criminal records, sort out convictions from charges, and flag the charges that were eligible for expungement in a spreadsheet. Once pushed to third-party document automation tool, the team could then automatically generate expungement petitions.
Criminal charges, even those that are eligible for simple, free expungement, can prevent someone from obtaining housing or employment. This is a simple barrier to overcome if only help is available.
The results have been tremendous. For example, at a one-day legal clinic, LAS expunged 324 charges for 98 people — work that would have taken much longer without automation. “Criminal charges, even those that are eligible for simple, free expungement, can prevent someone from obtaining housing or employment. This is a simple barrier to overcome if only help is available,” says Oswald.
Despite initial reluctance from some attorneys, the project has proven that AI can free up legal professionals’ valuable time to focus more on clients. “Technology won’t replace the human element,” Oswald emphasizes, noting that clients still need to understand the legal process and how it impacts their lives. Instead, AI should be utilized as a support function for pro bono lawyers to aid in the process — and still be checked by attorneys before submission. In the case of expungement, leveraging tools to identify and craft petitions for attorney review and submission can save time, scale the number of those served, and allow attorneys to amplify the human experience in their engagement.
Legal Aid of North Carolina: Virtual assistants for legal information
Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Innovation Lab is leveraging AI to provide 24/7 access to legal information through a virtual assistant known as the AI Legal Information Assistant (LIA). Available on the organization’s website, LIA answers questions from the public about housing, family law, and consumer rights in plain language, making legal information accessible to those who may not have immediate access to an attorney.
Scheree Gilchrist, Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Chief Innovation Officer, saw an opportunity to apply AI to the organization’s knowledge set to better scale how the agency could help a higher number of clients. Particularly in rural and low-income areas, legal aid offices may not be easily accessible or have long wait times for clients to speak with an attorney on a time-sensitive matter. “We recognized that human-centered solutions are critical for addressing access to justice challenges, but we also needed a scalable approach to meet the rising demand for legal services, particularly as it relates to accessing legal information and resources,” says Gilchrist.
“AI offers the capacity to provide quick, accurate information to a vast audience, particularly to those in urgent need,” she adds. “AI can also help reduce the burden on our legal staff, allowing them to focus on more complex or nuanced cases that require human intervention while simple, routine questions and information can efficiently be handled by the AI.”
AI offers the capacity to provide quick, accurate information to a vast audience, particularly to those in urgent need. AI can also help reduce the burden on our legal staff…
Partnering with a legal technology company, the team engaged in internal research projects and client discovery conversations to identify the areas of legal assistance that were most requested. They then developed a closed system knowledge base to ensure high-quality responses and engaged law students and clients to repeatedly test the service. After several iterations, the team launched the tool on the organization’s website and have averaged more than 95,000 views on their Get Help webpage in a five-month period, with 20,000 views on our housing resources alone.
Legal Aid of North Carolina updates and refines LIA on an ongoing basis and has seen the investment pay off. “With more than 400,000 requests for services annually, many people exit our process without ever connecting with an attorney or intake staff — a reality we found unacceptable,” says Gilchrist. “AI won’t solve this problem entirely, but it can ensure that individuals who contact Legal Aid of NC receive accurate information that helps them take informed next steps.”
In its next phase, Gilchrist says she envisions LIA being able to serve as a concierge for applicants, ensuring they connect with accurate and trusted resources, or connect with legal aid staff, as appropriate. “While AI can’t replicate the nuanced understanding of a human lawyer, it can provide the first step toward resolving legal issues and empower individuals to navigate complex legal systems with confidence,” she explains.
Evolving AI for legal aid
These case studies highlight the power of AI to not only strengthen legal aid organizations’ work internally to allow them to serve more people, but also to provide critical resources to individuals who may be seeking legal information on their own. By taking a human-centered approach to design, double-checking outputs, and continuously improving the AI models, these advanced-tech pioneers are creating playbooks that over time, will significantly change how individuals increase access to justice on a larger scale.
You can find more about how AI for Legal Aid can help those accessing these services to better secure results, here.
