It’s not often nowadays that I get really really excited about something in the legal innovation and technology space. It’s not because I’m cynical or jaded – far from it – it’s just that I live and breathe this stuff 24/7. It’s like when I go on cruises…after seven or eight days of Seaday Brunches, afternoon teas and midnight buffets, by the time I get off the ship the last thing I want to do is eat anything ever again. I am FULL UP on innovation and to get me going it better be good.
So when I say I am cautiously excited about the newest iteration of Joshua Browder’s Do Not Pay app, it’s something. Hell, it brought me out of my blogging hiatus.
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably also heard this referred to as a Robot Lawyer and the small claims lawsuits feature will be getting the most ink in the legal tech press. First of all, stop saying Robot Lawyer. But secondly, it does way more than that! It slices, it dices, it can maybe fuck up your entire life and immigration status!
<record scratch>
Wait, what?
I’ll get to that.
I downloaded the app first thing this morning and started playing with it. I had to give it scary access to my email (I am trusting big time that Browder isn’t an evil genius that’s going to do nefarious things with that.) but it came back with the fact that I’m owed $20 for a class action law suit. Okay, that’s pretty cool I guess.
There was another feature to get money back for bank overdraft and credit card fees, but you have to give it your credit card information. I just paid them off, so I was a little leery of going there just yet. It said it was so that it could return money to you, in which case I wish there was a paypal or Venmo option.
Literally, there’s like a dozen or so things you can do with this and I’m not going to go through each one, but I will say I really liked the privacy protection tool and the credit check and correction option.
I’ve written before that Access to Justice doesn’t automatically mean Access to Legal Representation. In that mindset, I think Do Not Pay can be considered #A2JTech and not just #LegalTech. On Twitter, Browder refers to it as mass market consumer tech.
But oh, it is still legal tech. Be sure about that.
I saw this app previews at the Clio Cloud Conference last week. Having done research into state and local codes, let me tell you, that stuff is not easy to find. And so I was really taken aback when Browder said that it’s compatible with all ~3000 counties in the U.S. As we say on Twitter, “Huge, if true.” That’s a huge lift and going to be Hellish it maintain and keep up to date. I didn’t get to try this feature out yet because they overloaded their API which….hey, it happens. I look forward to doing so.
Then there’s the immigration piece. I am not an expert on immigration law. The only thing I really know about it is what I’ve gatherd from watching “90 Day Fiancé” on TLC. But fortunately I work with someone – Chase Hertel, he’s great – who came from a immigration legal tech company and is passionate about immigration law. He’s really impressed upon me in the past few months that we’ve worked together how complicated immigration law is and how persnickety the government is about processing applications, especially under the current administration.
So, here’s the thing…in the legal world, we don’t really get second chances to do a matter or case. Both in his comments at Clio and today on twitter, I get the sense (and I could be wrong) that Browder feels that because the app is free to use, “good enough” is okay. But it’s not in legal, not when the stakes are as high as someone’s immigration status or even as high as a small claims court proceeding. We don’t get do overs and we can’t mess up someone’s life.
Listen, I know the justice system is broken. We all know the stats. And I don’t believe it’s possible or necessary for every issue to have a in person one on one consult with an attorney. Tech can be the bridge to make justice more accessible. But we have to get it right.