A2J Tech Employee Spotlight Series: Laura Steinbach and Devan Kreitzer
Welcome back to our A2J Tech Employee Spotlight Series!
At A2J Tech, we believe in more than just showcasing the intellectual prowess of our team; we're here to highlight the vibrant personalities that are the heartbeat of our mission. This series offers a window into the lives of our dedicated team members, each of whom is deeply committed to making justice accessible to all.
Find out where our employees are from, their hidden talents, beloved pets, favorite books and movies, and maybe pick up a new favorite holiday recipe along the way!
This week we are introducing Laura Steinbach, Legal Innovator & Developer and Devan Kreitzer, Data Analyst.
Laura Steinbach
How did you get into legal tech?
My path has deviated severely! I became serious about applying for law school after the 2016 election. Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies gave me the motivation to study for the LSAT during my final years in college. During my 1L year, I participated in the Pro Bono Program’s Alternative Spring Break, a trip allowing students to earn 40 hours of pro bono work by assisting legal aid organizations. I helped the Southern Poverty Law Center with translating during client meetings and processing asylum and visa applications at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. During that week, I spent most of my client meetings declining cases due to limited resources. Even though declining cases when an organization is at capacity is common practice, it was genuinely disheartening. There has to be a better way. Legal aid organizations need more effective methods to provide services, or at least an alternate route for the average person to access legal resources independently. This halted my interest in immigration law but started my curiosity for leveraging technology in legal practice to help maximize time and resources.
Although it is not required, my law school offered several certifications that can accompany your law degree to showcase that your courses were specifically geared towards an interest in certain fields. Due to my passion for immigration and my curiosity about legal technology, I was torn between the Public Interest Certification and the new Legal Analytics Certification. Spurred by my experiences during the Alternative Spring Break and my burgeoning interest in legal technology, I chose the Legal Analytics Certification route. My first class with Professor Charles Bowen on Legal Innovation introduced me to innovative thinkers in law like Professor Richard Susskind and new tools like Document Automation. I was absolutely thrilled! The passion I thought had died in Lumpkin, Georgia, reignited with helping people help themselves through self-help programs and helping legal aid organizations maximize efficiency with the resources they do have.
Through the help of Dr. Susan Navarro Smelcer, I applied for the Access to Justice Technology Fellowship Program and submitted applications to legal aid organizations, non-profits, and legal technology companies that were looking to host law students who were interested in the intersection between law and technology. Mind you, this was when the COVID-19 pandemic began, and many host sites were struggling to adjust to remote work. A2J Tech was one of the few host sites that reached out during this time. Their project was to automate the divorce process in Colorado, making it easier for a layperson to fill out their divorce documents with a questionnaire that will output their answers on the divorce templates. Imagine a system similar to Turbotax, but designed for divorce forms. At the time, divorce rates were skyrocketing. The goal was to help Colorado citizens with filing for divorce as a cheaper alternative to seeking a divorce lawyer. Being introduced to more technologies that could be leveraged by legal aid organizations and alternative legal resources like HelloDivorce captivated my curiosity. I’ve been with A2J Tech ever since!
Why is access to justice important to you?
Access to justice is important to me because I believe everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, should have access to the legal resources and representation they need for their case.
If you weren’t working for A2J Tech, what would you be doing?
I like to think that, if not for my role at A2J Tech, I would be working with a legal aid organization, focusing on immigration law cases and potentially assisting with internal technology innovation projects.
A2J Tech has employees all over! Where are you based out of?
I am currently based in New York City, but I have plans to move back to Atlanta, Georgia.
A2J Tech does a weekly employee trivia! What topic would you be best at?
Trivia isn't my strongest suit, but if I had to choose, pop culture would be my best category!
What’s your favorite holiday recipe?
Green bean casserole
Do you have any pets?
Do plants count??
From the back left to back right, I have:
- Monstera Deliciosa
- Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree
From the front left to the front right, I have:
- Guiana Chestnut (AKA Money Tree)
- Lady Slipper Orchid
- Peace Lily
- Dracaena Trifasciata (AKA Snake Plant)
- Lady Slipper Orchid
What is your favorite book or movie?
Favorite Movie: Slumdog Millionaire
Favorite Book: the Game of Thrones series
What do you listen to while working remotely?
While working remotely, I enjoy listening to city pop and bossa nova playlists.
What’s one place you’d really like to visit?
I would love to visit Cebu, Philippines. They have the best beaches!
What’s a surprising fact about you?
I have dual citizenship, the United States and the Philippines.
What’s your Meyers-Briggs alignment?
INFJ
Devan Kreitzer
How did you get into legal tech?
Out of college, I knew I wanted to work in the legal field. While preparing for law school, I began working at a nonprofit legal aid, Bay Area Legal Services, in the Tampa Bay area. There, I managed grant deliverables and oversaw client data and processes for their newly founded Disaster Relief Team. My work with their data and case management system sparked a significant interest in managing data and developing new systems, processes, and procedures. Already passionate about technology, I taught myself data analytics and was subsequently introduced to A2J Tech, where I found the perfect blend of technology and legal aid service.
Why is access to justice important to you?
Growing up in a low-income family has really shaped my mentality towards equitable justice. My family, meeting the eligibility requirements for government aid, often sought assistance. Seeing my dad rejoin the US Army as a truck driver in his 30s to support us inspired me to help families like mine. Working in nonprofit legal aid and hearing stories of those impacted by an unfair system further fueled my desire to assist those in need.
If you weren’t working for A2J Tech, what would you be doing?
Most likely, if I hadn’t found legal tech I would have continued forward with law school to become a lawyer. A more recent dream job of mine is to start a nonprofit organization that teaches data-related skills to less privileged kids/teens. The world is so data-oriented now and just knowing a coding language as well as navigating a database can land you a well-paying job!
A2J Tech has employees all over! Where are you based out of?
I'm based in Tampa, FL, and have lived in Florida my whole life. I have never experienced a “real” winter and am ready to experience seasons (that aren’t on a drastic scale of less to extreme heat/humidity). Who knows, I will probably completely regret moving from Florida… but I won’t know until I do.
A2J Tech does a weekly employee trivia! What topic would you be best at?
History, Food, Video Games - a seemingly perfect trifecta. Since I can remember, I have always been in love with all three of those topics. An early memory of mine is watching a WWII documentary with my dad, eating pizza, with the occasional distraction of Pokemon on my Gameboy.
What’s your favorite holiday recipe?
Holiday season is one of my favorites. I do a lot of recipe testing to make sure my potluck additions are up-to-par. Recently, I have made a pumpkin brownie that was a nice mixture of fall spices, pumpkin, and a traditional dark chocolate brownie. That recipe will probably become a regular!
Do you have any pets?
I currently have two pets; a dog and cat. My dog’s name is Hiro and he’s a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Haru, my cat, is an orange domestic long hair cat - that occasionally is cut to look like a lion.
What is your favorite book or movie?
The Giver would probably be my favorite book. Interestingly enough, it was also the first book that I legitimately read in English class that wasn’t dependent on SparkNotes.
Interstellar would be my favorite movie. The acting, soundtrack, graphics, and story is just… chef’s kiss. Followed very closely by Disney’s Inside Out.
What do you listen to while working remotely?
I cannot stay concentrated if music is playing while I work, I get distracted too easily. Typically when I work, I put on noise-canceling headphones with nothing playing, just so it is quiet and I can think. If my surroundings are overpowering the noise-canceling, I turn on an 8 hour brown noise video on YouTube.
What’s one place you’d really like to visit?
My partner and I plan on visiting Japan once we are both out of graduate school! We are both interested in the culture, food, and history. We want to spend some time traveling and seeing all of the sights Japan has to offer.
What’s a surprising fact about you?
I love building LEGO sets and have a couple of shelves dedicated to showcasing sets I’ve built! LEGO allows me to be distracted, build something cool, and ultimately just simply decompress.
What’s your Meyers-Briggs alignment?
The last time that I took the Meyers-Briggs alignment test, I was designated as INTJ. If I were to take it again, I don’t believe much would have changed. I am very much an introvert that is definitely more oriented towards “T” (thinking), but as I get older I can feel more of those pesky “F’s” (feeling) becoming more relevant!
