We are Justice Tech
What is Justice Tech? How does it differ from Law Tech? And why are Find Others at the forefront of bringing it to the UK?
In 2020, a report titled Justice Tech for all: How Technology Can Ethically Disrupt the US Justice System was published in the US. The report was not published by eminent lawyers or a human rights charity - it came instead from two venture capitalist firms keen to push the advantages of investing heavily in this new sector.
Within the introduction, the report defined Justice Tech as: “Startups that are built with the goals of reducing inequities in criminal or civil justice and creating opportunities for justice-involved people.”
Whereas Law Tech or Legal Tech looks to provide solutions to the legal industry, Justice Tech aims to use technology to provide services to the millions of consumers not currently served by the legal sector.
So, is this the dawn of a new age in consumer-centred UK legal services? To understand whether we are finally witnessing a justice revolution in the UK, it’s worth looking back at the history of legal services reform.
The Legal Services Act 2007
In July 2003, former Prudential chairman Sir David Clementi was appointed to carry out an independent review of the regulatory framework for legal services in England and Wales. Within his terms of reference, he was to look at a regulatory framework that would promote competition, innovation, and the public and consumer interest.
From this came the Legal Services Act 2007, which, amongst a few reshuffles of deckchairs, did seek to increase competition through the external ownership of law firms, so non-lawyers could finally own legal services providers.
It also created the Legal Services Board to sit at the top of the regulatory system for legal services in England and Wales.
It is interesting to look back at the aims of both the review and the resulting Act and consider whether any consumer of legal services has ever witnessed any improvement to their access to justice - a clear and stated regulatory objective in the Act.
The simple answer is that the Act has made little, if any, difference to the consumer.
In their report, The State of Legal Services 2020, the Legal Services Board looked back at a decade of the Act and found that whilst the sector has performed strongly in economic terms, 3.6m people have an unmet legal need each year. Good news for lawyers, bad news for consumers.
Time for justice tech
So it is time for Justice Tech, the point at which technology finally bridges the gap from lawyer to consumer, to come into effect. Justice Tech is being led by start-ups adept at rising to a challenge that can only be solved by technology and a deep understanding of what consumers need and expect from service providers.
In its 2020 report, the LSB stressed the need for these services to provide consumers with “the information and tools to drive more robust competition, compelling providers to deliver legal services that respond to their needs.”
These needs grow ever more exacting with consumers interacting almost exclusively online for products and services. The old ways of expecting a consumer to wait for a response are long gone, and there is a need for service levels far greater than traditional legal systems can provide.
Why Find Others?
Find Others addressed this issue from outside the legal industry. The founders sought help on a legal problem, which they were sure had happened to many others, and could not find anything online. They set upon developing a full-service platform to bring people together who have a collective interest, helping them to campaign and find legal representation.
While the platform also allows law firms to campaign, it uniquely enables them to manage and maintain their clients through a simple subscription model. It provides a client relationship system that meets the demand of today’s consumers.
Having made the final of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Legal Access Challenge with their proposal, Find Others was provided with the support to bring Justice Tech to the UK. The platform seeks to democratise the means to achieve civil justice, giving the consumer the ability to drive competition.
We believe that we have finally got a platform that meets the regulatory objectives of the Legal Services Act 2007. That is, we work in the interests of consumers whilst encouraging an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession.
So that’s where we find ourselves, at the helm of Justice tech in the UK, whilst also looking to expand to other jurisdictions. To find out more about Find Others, visit our website or contact us at info@findothers.com.