A2J Author, Legal Aid Organizations, and Courts: Bridging the Civil Justice Gap Using Document Assembly

12 Pages Posted: 10 Oct 2017

See all articles by Jessica Frank

Jessica Frank

Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI)

Date Written: May 2017

Abstract

Because there is a huge justice gap in the United States, millions of Americans are eligible for legal aid. With few attorneys working in legal aid organizations nationwide, low-income people, by necessity, are becoming self-represented litigants. This article discusses the history of document assembly and A2J Author®, an interactive interviewing tool for self-represented litigants within the legal aid context; makes the argument for why document assembly can help to close the justice gap; shows that over the past decade, this technology has repeatedly proven itself to be cost effective, efficient, and well received by self-represented litigants; and finally, discusses the next wave of technological advances A2J Author is making to keep itself relevant and useful to self-represented litigants.

Keywords: A2J, Access to Justice, Legal Technology, Legal Software, Law School, Legal Aid, Courts, Technology, Document Assembly

JEL Classification: K10

Suggested Citation

Frank, Jessica, A2J Author, Legal Aid Organizations, and Courts: Bridging the Civil Justice Gap Using Document Assembly (May 2017). Western New England Law Review, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3050065

Jessica Frank (Contact Author)

Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) ( email )

United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.a2jauthor.org

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