Harnessing Data to Improve Access to Justice

How can data-driven decisions help legal aid organizations? 

Data-driven decision-making uses data to guide important decisions and processes within an organization. It is the motor behind many industries, from business to public health. By harnessing data to inform decisions, organizations can improve their efficacy and impact. Yet the legal industry as a whole has lagged behind other fields in integrating data into decision-making. 

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The medical profession offers a clear example of a field revolutionized by a turn toward data. Since the 1930s, medicine has pivoted to a model based on empiricism, which means relying on observation and experimentation to develop knowledge and practices. This model has dramatically improved outcomes and reduced errors. This translates to lives saved and health improved.  

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Legal aid organizations in particular stand to benefit from integrating data analysis into their day-to-day operations and strategic plans. The goal is not to reduce complex cases or human interactions to cold data points. The goal is for skilled legal providers to learn from these complex cases and human interactions in a systematic way.

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Data offers answers, but just as importantly, it inspires questions. Regularly assessing and analyzing service and outcomes data opens space for self-reflection and learning. Integrating data is an ongoing process. It involves a commitment to listening, adapting, and responding– exactly what legal aid organizations are already doing. 

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Harnessing data to guide decisions does not mean shutting out or shutting down the wealth of expertise, experience, and empathy that inform decision-making in legal aid offices. Instead, it means leaning into that expertise through data-informed processes.

What does data-driven decision-making look like up close? 

A2J Tech partners with legal aid organizations to help improve their operations. In the course of this work, our team has seen firsthand how capturing and analyzing data can have a positive impact. One example is understanding rejection data. Rejection data are the numbers of individuals who contact a legal aid organization for help, but do not receive assistance. By taking a closer look at why cases are being rejected and where people are falling through the cracks, A2J Tech helps our partners figure out what is going wrong and build solutions. It might be a question of improving an online intake system, such as adding scheduling features, sending text messages, or providing clearer information about next steps. In this case, utilizing data means the providers can make better decisions about their intake processes. This all translates into getting more people into the right lanes to get help, to more clarity among the office staff, and to more meaningful numbers to share with funders. The data was there all along, and it is just a question of knowing where to look!

What is the status of data in the legal industry and legal aid? 

Much like medicine, which once trusted only medical elites, the practice of law still depends almost exclusively on the opinions of legal elites (lawyers). Unlike other fields that have used evidence-based practices, legal services tend not to have any systematic standards based on data.

In any industry or workplace, it is typically easiest to do things the same way they are usually done. The busier and more resource-strained the environment is, the harder it is to change paths. The risk here is that flawed systems will often stay flawed. Data-driven decisions can reveal inefficiencies, inequities, and other patterns that enable course correction. 

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For time and resource-strapped legal aid providers, data collection is often seen as a cumbersome and impractical burden. Legal aid data is, however, an effective way to make services more reflective of and responsive to client needs, realities, and preferences. While in the short-term it can seem daunting, in the long-term it will save time, energy, and resources for your organization.

What are some examples of data-driven decisions in the legal sector? 

Data comes in many forms and is not one size fits all. Among legal aid organizations and funders, conversations about data collection are generally centered around service (or input and output) data. 

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Service data captures information about clients, their legal issues, and the services they receive. This type of data provides valuable insights for planning and improving service delivery. By drawing on this data to make decisions, legal aid organizations can use resources effectively, understand service demand, and increase public engagement with their work.

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More recently, there has been a push for outcomes data, which refers to the impact of legal services on clients, communities, and systemic issues. Harnessing outcomes data enables legal aid organizations to better communicate their societal impact to funders, the public, and partners. It is also helpful for identifying trends that can be addressed through practice offerings. 

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Useful data for legal aid organizations can also come in the form of qualitative research, randomized control trials, or user testing. 

Final thoughts 

If we are serious about improving access to justice, we need to think rigorously and methodically about what this means and how to do it. We can’t assume that our ideas are correct or effective - we need to inform them through data. Data will not solve the access to justice crisis, but it can help pinpoint barriers, gaps, and bottlenecks. A legal aid model that incorporates data will be more accountable to the goal of greater access to justice.

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What I’ve discussed here only scratches the surface. If you are interested in learning more about the collection and use of data in legal aid practice, check out some of the excellent work linked throughout this post. Have questions or ideas you want to discuss? Please reach out to me or my colleagues at A2J Tech!