Legal empowerment is about grassroots justice — ensuring that law is not confined to books or courtrooms but is available and meaningful to ordinary people.
Around the world, many organisations are using technology to support legal empowerment efforts by expanding their geographic reach; allowing people to help themselves more effectively; and reducing costs related to hiring lawyers and specialist providers.
However, we don’t know enough about all the ways that technology is being used for legal empowerment worldwide, common trends, and what goes into a successful project.
That’s why we partnered with the Open Society Justice Initiative to research how legal empowerment actors worldwide are using technology to give people information about the law, connect them with legal advice, and provide them with legal services. We’re thrilled to share this research publicly today in our new report: Technology for Legal Empowerment: A Global Review.
The full report is available for download, and you can read a summary online-first version of the report in The Engine Room’s library.
📝 Download the full report [PDF]
📱 View the (mobile-friendly) online summary [LINK]
📬 Sign up for the email digest here
How to use this report
We created this report for:
- Civil society organisations working to increase access to justice who are interested in using technology in their work
- Governments interested in the role of technology to increase access to the law, courts, and legal assistance
- Funders looking to better serve their grantees
We’re conscious that long reports might not be the best way for the busy people to digest our research. So, we’re also sharing our findings through our Propeller Series. The Propeller Series is an email digest where we share key findings that land in your inbox once a week for six weeks from the day you sign up.
Sign up here to receive the digest at any time.
If any of the findings resonate particularly with you, and you’re wondering where to start with using technology, we’re here to help. Schedule a call with us as part of our light-touch support program. We’d be happy to talk through your next steps.
You can also tell us what you thought of the research, here.