Artificial Intelligence and Access to Justice at the ‘Shop Front’
The Potential and Limitations of Meeting Legal Need Through Technology
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21458550 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Catherine Hastings (0000-0002-5486-8118, Western Sydney University Sydney New South Wales Australia, corresponding author), Art Cotterell (0000-0002-0230-0491, University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales Australia), Farzana Bruce (0009-0000-8021-4428, Canberra Community Law Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-07 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Australian Journal of Social Issues (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0157-6321 • E-ISSN: 1839-4655 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/ajs4.70115 |
| OpenAlex | W7160504825 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
In Australia, governments fund Community Legal Centres (CLCs) as part of the legal assistance sector (LAS) to meet the ‘legal needs’ of people experiencing disadvantage who cannot afford private legal services. Persistent unmet demand for CLCs is well‐documented. As artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in private legal practice to increase productivity and profits, some parts of the LAS are also exploring AI use cases. This article asks: What do we know about CLC clients and how services are currently delivered to meet their needs? What must we consider about client capabilities to ensure AI technologies are appropriate in the context of CLC service delivery? The research includes a review of policy documents, peer‐reviewed research and grey literature, and secondary analysis of empirical data on how client capabilities contribute to the legal needs of CLC clients. We show that the three‐dimensional nature of legal need; a client's capability and ability to self‐assist; structural inequalities; and current CLC service delivery models are vital considerations when developing AI tools to increase access to justice
Disadvantage · Economic Justice · Legal service · Private sector · Project commissioning · Publishing · Artificial Intelligence Applications · Artificial Intelligence in Law · Ethics and Social Impacts of AI
ChatGPT
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Large language models and community legal centres
From Maverick to Mainstream
Technology-based legal document generation services and the regulation of legal practice in Australia
Closing the gap
Participatory Design for Innovation in Access to Justice
The Promise and the Peril of the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Litigation
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |