Virtual hearings, electronic filing of court documents, and virtual witnessing of wills and powers of attorney. These are just some of the technological advances in the legal system that were possible years ago, but not adopted widely until recently as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on these initiatives, Ontario also recently introduced the Accelerating Access to Justice Act, proposing various reforms to improve the delivery and availability of legal services. But the question remains as to whether these recent advancements are enough to improve access to justice for individuals and families across Canada who cannot afford the increasing cost of legal services.

A solution may lie within the world of tech start-ups. Ryerson University hosted its inaugural LegalNext conference last Saturday, highlighting insightful perspectives on the opportunities and challenges facing the legal profession and the critical role of technology in advancing legal innovation. In particular, one session explored how tech start-ups can fill the A2J void.

Hersh Perlis, Co-Founder & Director of Legal Innovation Zone (LIZ) at Ryerson University moderated the session, featuring panelists Lucrezia Spagnolo (Founder & CEO of VESTA Social Innovation Technologies), Shane Murphy (COO of Ownr), and Aliya Ramji (partner at McCarthy Tétrault and co-founder of MT>Ventures). The LIZ is the world’s first legal tech incubator, supporting start-ups that focus on building better legal solutions for consumers of law, both businesses and individuals. The LIZ is focusing on driving systemic change in the legal system by providing access to a service that is considered a luxury for a lot of Canadians.

The panelists discussed how disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and data analytics can be used to transform the delivery of legal services, making them more efficient and affordable.

When asked about the role that start-ups can play in filling the A2J void, Shane was clear: technology has to be a part of the solution. Given its role in almost every aspect of our lives – particularly during the pandemic - Lucrezia noted that now more than ever, people are turning to technology first. She created VESTA Community, a web and mobile-enabled anonymous information and reporting platform for those who have experienced sexual violence. When speaking with survivors, Lucrezia noticed that the majority first turned to the Internet for a solution, not a lawyer. Just because people are not going to a lawyer does not mean they are not looking for a solution to their problems. Quite often, technology can make information and resources more accessible.

Aliya noted that it is important to consider the legal sector that one is looking at. For example, areas of law where there are barriers to the court systems and small claim matters – including family law, criminal law, and refugee and immigration law - are ripe for disruption. Big law firms typically do not provide services in these areas, paving the way for tech start-ups to provide beneficial effective and affordable solutions such as AI. However, the panel acknowledged that AI may have an implicit bias based on how an algorithmic model is trained. But Aliya is optimistic that start-ups can overcome this by recognizing the bias and training the AI models based on different inputs. While it may take longer, Aliya believes that AI will be one of the more long-term solutions for access to justice.

Although areas like family law and criminal law are what people traditionally have in mind when thinking of access to justice, Hersh pointed out that even small and medium-sized businesses face barriers to the legal system. Due to the high costs, these SMEs typically do not hire a lawyer for their contractual needs. This is where start-ups like Ownr have stepped in. Ownr has allowed tens of thousands of entrepreneurs to use online processes to launch their business. For example, the start-up allows entrepreneurs to incorporate their business online, resulting in this method of incorporation becoming the industry standard.

The panelists also discussed how entrepreneurs looking to enter the legal tech market should not view their start-up as a “legal tech” start-up, but rather a business solving a problem. When evaluating start-ups to bring into the MT>Ventures portfolio, Aliya first considers whether the entrepreneur is passionate about solving a problem for which they can provide a solution. Lucrezia, whose background is in financial services, did not approach VESTA Community from an A2J standpoint, but rather with the mission of helping people overcome barriers that are present in the status quo. Shane realized that the less his company branded itself as a “legal tech” start-up and more as a company helping entrepreneurs launch their own businesses, the faster his company took off.

Ultimately, the role of start-ups is to level the playing field, says Aliya. But the panelists emphasized how technology is not the end-all and be-all solution to filling the A2J void. It needs to be a collaborative process involving lawyers and the broader community. Lawyers, governments, regulators and public institutions all play an important role in allowing start-ups to innovate and overcome any institutional barriers. Aliya believes that the government and public institutions need to embrace technology and have the perspective that technology is going to improve their conditions by decreasing the need to complete mundane tasks, rather than take away their jobs.

The COVID-19 pandemic propelled our legal system into the 21st century. However, significant strides still need to be made to improve access to justice. Tech start-ups have the potential to fill the A2J void, and Lucrezia is optimistic that start-ups can be the bridge between where we are now and where we hope to be in the future. However, as identified in the Canadian Bar Association’s Task Force recent report on justice issues arising from COVID-19, “technology must be construed as a targeted aid – not a crutch to defer to mindlessly.” The pandemic will eventually end, but the legal innovation spurred by it should continue and develop until access to justice is attainable for all Canadians. The panel ended in agreement that incrementally improving access to justice is key and start-ups will play a critical role in this incremental process.