Since becoming a fellow last summer, I have remained involved with the ATJ Tech Fellows organization. Over the last year, I have been able to meet many of the other fellows from my group. I have also been able to spend time with the founder, Miguel Willis. If you have never met Miguel, you are missing out. He is such a dynamic individual. While in law school, he started at least three companies–one of those was the ATJ Tech Fellows. If you are ever given the opportunity, please listen to his tale of getting this non-profit started and the wild ride that was finding funding.

Since my fellowship ended, I have kept in touch with Miguel and have worked on a few projects for him. One of the projects that I have been able to work on this summer is the Justice Innovation Challenge. In the challenge, teams were asked to come up with an idea to solve an access to justice problem. The team could be multi-disciplinary but needed to include at least one law student. Teams were also asked to work with a legal aid organization or bar association.

The teams came up with so many great ideas! I am not sure how the judges were able to narrow the field, but somehow they did. The result is that seven teams will be presenting their ideas via a virtual pitch on August 21st at 3 pm EDT. This pitch is open to anyone who wishes to watch. To register, please go to the challenge page on Adobe Connect.

Seven teams made it through the semi-final rounds to the virtual pitch competition. Here are the teams, presented in no particular order, who will be making a pitch in the finals:
  1.  Michigan Legal Advice is the entry of Sarah Lilly (University of Miami School of Law) and Angela Tripp. Their sponsoring organization is Michigan Legal Help.
  2. ADAptive is the entry of a team led by Ross Steinberg (NYU School of Law | Institute for Executive Education). The team included Nicholas Feuer and Bryan Knouse. The sponsoring organization is the New York City Bar Association Justice Center-Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project.
  3. Welcome Home Justice is the entry of Shola Oladetimi (Washington and Lee School of Law). Connecticut Legal Services is the sponsoring organization.
  4. My Legal Needs is the entry of Anna L. Stone (Georgetown University Law Center) and is sponsored by Whitman-Walker Health.
  5. Privity is the entry by team Belmont BLSA led by Tenia Clayton (Belmont University College of Law) The team includes Lesley Smith, Elena Ferguson, and Ashley Gholston. Their sponsoring organization is the Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers.
  6. Pocket VAWA Self-Petitions is the entry of Team VAWA led by Emilie Schwarz (Columbia Law School). Sanctuary for Families is the sponsoring organization.
  7. Cyber Civil Rights Resource Guide is the entry created by Talia Boiangin (University of Miami Law School). The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative is the sponsoring organization.
During the finals, the judges will choose the winners. Then, a member from each of the top three teams will win an all-inclusive trip to Washington, D.C. to present their ideas to a live audience on October 1st. The prize packages are valued at a total of $30,000.
For more information about the challenge, visit the Justice Innovation Challenge page.
To view the Devpost entries, visit the Challenge Submissions Page.
To view the finals, register on the Adobe Connect Page.