Category Innovation

B.C. Access-to-Justice Hackathon Returning for Third Year

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Justice Hack, an access-to-justice hackathon in British Columbia, will take place on Saturday, October 25th and Sunday October 26th. Technologists, lawyers, justice system stakeholders and other interested persons are invited to join this event to brainstorm about access to justice and law and collaborate with others to build legal tech solutions that can meet needs and have an impact. The theme of this year’s event is employment and workplace rights.

Participants can sign up solo, with another person, or with a team. For the event, participants will be asked to work in groups of 3-5 people. There is a cost to join the event and each ticket includes meals, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages. For more information about the Justce Hack event or to purchase tickets, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-justice-hack-bcs-largest-access-to-justice-hackathon-tickets-1647417091869

Annual Conference Aims to Promote Canadian Leadership in AI and Tech for Justice

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The 2025 Autonomy through Cyberjustice Technologies (ACT) Partnership Conference aims to bring attention to Canada’s leadership in artificial intelligence and technological innovation in the justice system. The ACT conference is an annual gathering that has taken place since 2018. It is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and brings together dozens of partners and stakeholders representing all areas of the justice system.

This year’s ACT Conference includes panels and presentations on the following themes:

  • Legal Contestability and Scientific Falsifiability in AI Decision-Making
  • Regulating AI in the Justice Sector (The Regulatory Reflex)
  • Experimenting with AI Technologies to Enhance Judicial Actors’ Autonomy
  • Lessons to Improve Practices of Justice Stakeholders
  • Young Researchers: AI & Tech, Justice and Politics

The 2025 ACT Conference takes place from October 15-16, 2025, in Montreal. Information about Conference is available online here: https://www.ajcact.org/en/conference-2025/program/. Additional details about the ACT Project are available here: https://www.ajcact.org/en.

UK Ministry of Justice Publishes AI Action Plan for Justice

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The UK Ministry of Justice has published a first-of-its-kind document which lays out a plan to “harness the power of AI to transform the public’s experience” of the justice system in England and Wales. The Ministry of Justice’s AI Action Plan for Justice seeks to present a proportionate approach to AI adoption across courts, tribunals, prisons, probation and supporting services, noting the potential of AI to make justice more accessible, fairer, and faster.

The AI Action Plan outlines three priorities:

  • Strengthen our foundations
  • Embed AI across the justice system
  • Invest in our people and partners

In developing the AI Action Plan for Justice, the Ministry of Justice consulted the judiciary and legal services regulators.

The AI Action Plan for Justice is available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-action-plan-for-justice/ai-action-plan-for-justice.

International Report Explores Use and Perception of AI by Legal Aid Organisations

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The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) conducted a survey of 56 legal aid organisations in low-, middle- and high-income countries with a view to better understanding how artificial intelligence is being used on the frontline and how it is perceived. Organisations included in the (non-representative) multi-country survey are based in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and North America. The survey was carried out in May 2025.

According to the report, generative AI applications are being used both in the design and delivery of legal aid services, with most organisations indicating that they use some AI. Among AI programs being used, ChatGPT is the most common. The most common uses of AI by legal aid organisations responding to the survey include: search, translation, content creation and proofreading. Based on survey responses, AI is not engaged as often for direct service provision.

HiiL’s AI and Access to Justice: A Snapshot of Current Trends and Future Potential report is available in English here: https://www.hiil.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/ai_and_access_to_justice__a_snapshot_of_current_trends_and_future_potential.pdf.

Canadian Journal of Law and Society Publishes Special Issue on People-Centred Justice

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A new open access special issue on people-centred justice has been published by the Canadian Journal of Law and Society. The issue covers almost a dozen topics including:

  • People-Centred Justice: Reimagining Law, Institutions and Process by Andrew Pilliar and Michelle Lawrence
  • People-Centered Justice in International Assistance: Rule-of-Law Path Dependencies or New Paths to Justice for All? by Adrian Di Giovanni and Maaike De Langen
  • Person-Centred Justice and Dispute Resolution: The Potential of Lay Courts by Jérémy Boulanger-Bonnelly
  • Towards People-Centered Justice: The Conflict Resolution Routes of People Facing Legal Problems by Megan Capp and Yvon Dandurand
  • Using Social Media as a Tool to Inform Person-Centred Justice by Matthew Dylag
  • Court Form Accessibility: Adopting, Designing and Evaluating Online Guided Pathways by Amy Salyzyn, Jacquelyn Burkell, Esti Azizi and David Westcott
  • Welfarism and People-Centred Justice by Noel Semple

The special issue is available online here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-law-and-society-la-revue-canadienne-droit-et-societe/issue/1A0FBAF126BB8296AC0466ACA65CB67C.

Upcoming Access to Justice and Artificial Intelligence Events

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On 20 March 2025, from 11.00 a.m. – 12.30 p.m. CET (6:00 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. EDT), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) will host a webinar on: Transforming Access to Justice through Artificial Intelligence.

Policymakers, legal experts, front-line activists, and justice innovators will discuss opportunities, risks, and governance strategies for AI-driven justice solutions and the broader role of AI in access to justice.

For more information, or to register, please visit: https://www.hiil.org/our-events/ai4justice-transforming-access-to-justice-through-artificial-intelligence/.

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On 2 April 2025, the Peter A. Allart School of Law at The University of British Columbia will host an AI and Law (Student) Symposium under the theme: Exploring Innovation, Challenges, and Legal Implications of a Technological Revolution.

Undergraduate and graduate students will engage in discussions on various topics related to AI and law, including:

  • AI & Free Expression: Algorithmic content moderation and political speech
  • AI & Litigation: Challenges in administrative and immigration law cases
  • AI & Accountability: Who is responsible when AI deceives?
  • AI & Creativity: The ownership of AI-generated works
  • AI & Journalism: Legal risks of AI in news reporting
  • AI & Law Practice: Regulating AI in legal decision-making
  • AI Personhood: How should we approach legal status for AI agents?

For more information, visit: https://allard.ubc.ca/about-us/events-calendar/ai-law-symposium.

New Book Explores Legal Innovation through Conversations on Technology, the Legal Profession, and Societal Change

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A recently published, open access book from publisher, Cambridge University Press explores legal innovation, its impacts, challenges, and opportunities through conversations focusing on technology, the legal profession and societal change. The book includes contributions from world-leading experts. Some topics covered by the book include:

  • Dispute Resolution Transformed by Technology
  • Corporate Governance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
  • Innovation in Financial Services and Supervision
  • Artificial Intelligence and Legal Services
  • Whether Digitalisation Will Help the Five Billion People Without Meaningful Access to Justice

Legal Innovation: Conversations about Technology, the Legal Profession and Societal Change, edited by Felix Steffek and Mihoko Sumida is available online here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/legal-innovation/8EBED6F418ED6BAFACAAF08DA2E4F173.

Call for Proposals Launched for 2025 People-Centred Justice Workshop

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The 3rd annual People-Centred Justice Workshop will take place from May 30-31, 2025 in Vancouver, BC, on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Organized by the BC Access to Justice Centre for Excellence at the University of Victoria, in collaboration with University of British Columbia’s Peter A. Allard School of Law and Thompson Rivers University’s Faculty of Law, and building on the success of the 2023 and 2024 PCJ workshops, this event aims to provide a venue to discuss Canadian A2J initiatives. The theme for the 2025 Workshop is “Innovation in People-Centred Justice.” The workshop will be conducted in a hybrid format, with AI-assisted translation services available for participants joining remotely or in person.

The organizing committee welcomes proposals on research, projects, or papers addressing any form of innovation in this field, whether through technology, procedural reform, or alternative approaches to people-centred justice. If you would like to participate, please submit your information and a brief proposal outline in this form by October 7, 2024. No abstract or complete work is required now, and subsequent deadlines will be communicated with participants. Participants will not be strictly held to the outline they provide. The October 7 deadline will allow organizers to better plan the workshop program and apply for funding to support the event.

The 2025 People-Centred Justice Workshop will immediately follow the 2025 Conference of the Federation of Law Reform Agencies of Canada (FOLRAC), which will also be held in Vancouver. Some participants may wish to attend both events.

U.S. Institute Publishes Report on Regulatory Reforms to Address Legal Services Gaps

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A new report by the the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) presents recommendations for the use of legal regulation innovation as a way to address the urgent legal services gap across much of America. The report outlines a series of objectives and findings from discussions with leaders from states considering or implementing regulatory innovation.

The report presents 12 recommendations reflecting stakeholder contributions, program and structure requirements, messaging, and research & data. The following are some of the recommendations included in the report:

  • Include ethics attorneys who are open to considering regulatory innovation in regulatory initiatives
  • Include at least one, but ideally as many as possible, representatives from the state’s supreme court on any regulatory innovation task force
  • Engage community-based organizations and the public from the outset
  • Focus initial efforts on education about the problem and why change is needed
  • Regulators should collect more data
  • Regulators and other leaders should consider how changes to other rules of professional conduct could increase access to affordable legal help

Unlocking Legal Regulation: Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Launching and Sustaining Regulatory Reform by Jessica Bednarz is available online here: https://iaals.du.edu/sites/default/files/documents/publications/ulr_lessons_learned.pdf.

U.S.-Based Justice For All Initiative Launches New Guidance Materials and Diagnostic Tool

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Launched in 2016 by civil justice leaders, experts, and funders, the national, collaborative Justice for All (JFA) initiative provides “materials and tools to assist states in moving toward the vision of justice for all.” The JFA’s comprehensive set of materials and tools can be adapted to a U.S. state’s current environment and needs.

The JFA recently announced the release of new guidance materials, which build on its initial work across 15 participating states/territories and seek to streamline future efforts to support strategic planning across states.

A new JFA diagnostic tool provides users with a customized report with recommendations based on user responses about their current activities.

To learn more about the JFA initiative, visit: https://www.ncsc.org/jfa.

To learn more about the new guidance materials, visit: https://www.ncsc.org/jfa/guidance-and-tools/guidance-materials.

To learn more about the new diagnostic tool, visit: https://www.ncsc.org/jfa/guidance-and-tools/diagnostic-tool.