Hackcess to Justice winners continue expanding reach of legal apps

As reported in the last PILA bulletin, the ABA Journal, in conjunction with Suffolk University Law School, ran its inaugural legal hackathon Hackcess to Justice 2014, a few weeks ago. Winners of the event are following up on their success by connecting with state officials, NGOs and other legal and tech professionals, to expand the reach of their apps.

PaperHealth, the healthcare proxy app and living will generator took first prize. Its creator, William Palin is now coordinating with a non-profit legal network from Vermont to raise awareness of the app, which has been made available to download from the Apple App Store. He also wants the state to review the legality of the app, so he can adjust and customise it according to state law and practice. He has plans to do the same for other states across the country.

The team behind Due Processr have been in talks with state officials about potential uses for the app. The app is an interactive tool that allows users to determine their eligibility for low-income legal support services in Massachusetts and which also allows criminal defendants to calculate state prison sentences. The state’s Commissioner for Probation has taken an interest in the calculator function, as the office had been developing something similar, and is now in talks with the team. The team is also in contact with a local non-profit which works with self-representing parties, on working out a way to use the app to generate fee waivers.

The participants have remained in touch since the hackathon and have indicated that Massachusetts Institute of Technology will be running a course on legal hackathons. The goal is to continue searching for creative ways in which technology can address legal problems.

Click here to read the article from ABA Journal.

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