updated on 01 October 2019
Online legal tools for women to protect themselves from domestic abuse and a chatbot designed to help people with special educational needs access legal advice are among the eight Legal Access Challenge finalists.
As Legal Futures reports, the finalists will now spend the next six months developing and implementing their ideas with funding of £50,000 each, with the two winners set to receive a further £50,000 in March 2020.
City firm Hogan Lovells will also provide pro bono legal advice to each finalist, as well as guidance on data protection and privacy issues from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The finalists are:
Anna Bradley, chair of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the challenge’s judging panel, said: “We have a great mix of winners, using tech in different ways, and offering solutions that will benefit people in very different situations: people in their personal and working lives, some of the most vulnerable – victims of domestic violence and those with learning difficulties – as well as small business.
“Legal services should be for everyone, not just the minority who currently use them. Technology could be a real game changer. We will be working closely with all the winners to support their work, and make sure our regulatory approach is up to the new questions technology will pose.”