Marina Pavlović and Amy Salyzyn join project on regulating technologies for common legal problems

Technology Law, Ethics and Policy
Representation of a balance between law and technology.
CLTS Faculty Members Prof. Marina Pavlović and Dr. Amy Salyzyn are co-applicants on a Justice and technology research grant from the Law Foundation of Ontario (LFO) for a project led by Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) on the regulation of technologies designed to assist the general public with legal documents.
Marina Pavlović and Amy Salyzyn

In collaboration with CLEO’s Executive Director, Julie Mathews, and Staff Lawyer, Erik Bornmann, Professors Pavlović and Salyzyn will explore the access to justice dimensions of the regulation of technology-assisted services that aim to help users complete legal forms and assemble legal documents. There are an increasing number of services that seek to enable the general public – many of whom have only low or moderate legal capability – to generate legal forms and documents for legal transactions (e.g. a will or separation agreement) or legal dispute resolution processes (e.g. an application for spousal/child support) through customized software technology tools.

While these tools can improve access to justice for so-called ‘everyday legal problems’ for the general public and particularly for members of marginalized, disadvantaged and discriminated-against groups, questions remain about the extent to which such services should be regulated.  The researchers will explore these questions and evaluate the potential impact of various regulatory approaches on access to justice.

As part of its commitment to improving access to justice, the LFO’s Justice and technology research grants aim to increase access to justice in novel ways, enabling a better understanding of the practical ways in which technology can change the way that legal services are provided.

Congratulations to Professors Pavlović and Salyzyn!