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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

Building Legal Empowerment Technologies

#SDGAction43387
Description
Description
Our Legal Empowerment and Technology project accelerates action by partnering with justice communities to advance the practice of technology-enabled legal empowerment strategies. These practices strive to close the civil justice gap by lowering barriers to information, building capacity, and empowering community members to use the law. By using co-design to develop prototypes in justice communities across the US, these prototypes could be replicated or scaled further increasing access to justice. Equity-based co-design is an innovative method of building legally empowering technological tools that truly serve community needs. With the help of community-led technologies, we can find Justice for All.
Expected Impact

Pro Bono Net has developed a Tech for Legal Empowerment Cohort, comprised of three justice communities, and has begun working with this cohort to develop and test new digital tools that will strengthen community non-legal navigator and community lawyering models, all with the aim of creating a more inclusive and responsive justice ecosystems. In addition, Pro Bono Net intends to convene a broader Tech for Legal Empowerment Learning Network of allied legal empowerment leaders and stakeholders in the US to build a framework for how technology can enable the scaling community lawyering initiatives and meaningful roles for lay advocates. This Network will convene in person at upcoming engagements as well as online via webinars and roundtables.

Capacity

The Legal Empowerment and Technology Initiative will build capacity with partners by supporting the development of three pilot projects. The Legal Empowerment and Technology Fellow will help train each partner in the use of equity-based co-design methodologies by providing resources, feedback, and artifacts. The pilot tools created by each cohort member will also strive to build capacity for the cohort member’s own legal aid organization and/or the community at large. Pro Bono Net will continue to advise each cohort member as their respective technologies are rolled out and improved over time.<br />
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In addition, we will hold a daylong convening in the spring of 2020 at Georgetown University Law Center to bring together a diverse group of approximately 25 leaders and stakeholders, including members of this project’s cohort, to discuss the role of digital tools in expanding roles for lay advocates and innovative approaches to community-driven justice initiatives. Following this convening, we will produce and distribute to the field at large a final toolkit and national webinar with the results of this initiative and approaches to replicating or building on successful strategies deployed by the Tech for Legal Empowerment cohort.

Governed

This initiative is coordinated by a Legal Empowerment and Technology Fellow, whose responsibility is to oversee convening, technical assistance, and co-design activities with a geographically distributed Tech for Legal Empowerment cohort. The Fellow also manages prototyping activities, including working with designers and developers to create and refine prototype tools. The Fellow will provide peer-to-peer networking and information-sharing support to the cohort via regular webinar convenings. The project's design is shaped by input from cohort members, our research partner at Georgetown University Law Center, the project funder and other key stakeholders in the legal empowerment arena. The evaluation of the program will encompass a variety of measures of success such as the number of people with legal needs reached through the pilot projects in three jurisdictions, and the extent to which this represents an increase over traditional outreach methods. The evaluation will also use a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to assess project outcomes.

Partners
Pro Bono Net, Immigration Advocates Network

Goal 16

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Goal 16

16.1

Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere

16.1.1
Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age
16.1.2
Conflict-related deaths per 100,000 population, by sex, age and cause
16.1.3

Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and/or (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months

16.1.4

Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live after dark

16.2

End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children

16.2.1

Proportion of children aged 1–17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month

16.2.2
Number of victims of human trafficking per 100,000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitation
16.2.3

Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18

16.3

Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all

16.3.1

Proportion of victims of (a) physical, (b) psychological and/or (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms

16.3.2
Unsentenced detainees as a proportion of overall prison population
16.3.3

Proportion of the population who have experienced a dispute in the past two years and who accessed a formal or informal dispute resolution mechanism, by type of mechanism

16.4

By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime

16.4.1
Total value of inward and outward illicit financial flows (in current United States dollars)
16.4.2
Proportion of seized, found or surrendered arms whose illicit origin or context has been traced or established by a competent authority in line with international instruments

16.5

Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms

16.5.1
Proportion of persons who had at least one contact with a public official and who paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials, during the previous 12 months
16.5.2
Proportion of businesses that had at least one contact with a public official and that paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials during the previous 12 months

16.6

Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels

16.6.1
Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget, by sector (or by budget codes or similar)
16.6.2

Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services

16.7

Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

16.7.1

Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups

16.7.2
Proportion of population who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive, by sex, age, disability and population group

16.8

Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance

16.8.1

Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations

16.9

By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration

16.9.1
Proportion of children under 5 years of age whose births have been registered with a civil authority, by age

16.10

Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements

16.10.1
Number of verified cases of killing, kidnapping, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture of journalists, associated media personnel, trade unionists and human rights advocates in the previous 12 months
16.10.2
Number of countries that adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information

16.a

Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime

16.a.1
Existence of independent national human rights institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles

16.b

Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development

16.b.1
Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law
Name Description
We will support cohort partners with the development of three digital tool prototypes that aim to legally empower each cohort member’s local justice communities.
We will engage cohort partners and allies in a series of in-person and online convenings to facilitate networking and learning exchanges around legal empowerment and technology efforts.
We will create a national webinar and toolkit based on what was learned during the development of the cohort’s pilot projects.
Other, please specify
We will provide financial support for the successful completion of the project, including travel funds, funds for engagements and events, funds for hiring a designer, and other programmatic activities.
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This initiative does not yet fulfil the SMART criteria.
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Timeline
01 January 1970 (start date)
01 January 1970 (date of completion)
Entity
,
SDGs
16
Geographical coverage
NYC
Website/More information
N/A
Countries
N/A
Contact Information

Katie Lam, Legal Empowerment and Technology Fellow

klam@probono.net