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Contact          
Carl Rauscher          
Director of Communications and Media Relations          
rauscherc@lsc.gov   
202-295-1615 �į�į�į�į�į�į�į�į&�Բ�����;&�Բ�����;

WASHINGTON – Legal tech experts discuss the role that technology can play in providing efficient pro bono services on the of LSC’s “Talk Justice Podcast,” released today. Kristen Sonday, co-chair of LSC’s Emerging Leaders Council and CEO of Paladin, hosts the conversation with guests Ransom Wydner, vice president of pro bono and social impact work at SixFifty, and Sam Flynn, co-founder and COO at Josef.

According to Wydner and Flynn, the goal of their tech is to minimize tedious, routine legal work. This allows attorneys more time to dedicate to higher-level strategic tasks and their clients, and also enables unrepresented people to better navigate complex legal systems. Streamlining repetitive processes improves the efficiency of legal services organizations and promotes increased access to justice.

Josef is a no-code tech automation platform, which allows individual legal services organizations to create their own web-based tools without the need to code. Its platform has been used to simplify processes like filing for unemployment benefits, estate planning, changing gender markers and completing asylum applications for refugees.

“It’s such a stressful environment where you don’t have a lot of support or resources, so saving you any time and stress is really powerful,” says Flynn. “I think scaling your services and just helping more people is a really powerful benefit of legal tech and automation.”

At SixFifty, Wydner works on creating legal tools for those who can’t afford to hire attorneys to make the law more accessible. SixFifty recently partnered with Legal Aid Chicago, an LSC grantee, to create a platform that simplifies the process of filing for protective orders.

“We build free tools for people who can’t afford legal help,” says Wydner. “We do that because we believe very strongly that the law is for everyone, that it belongs to us like parks and libraries belong to us, and that people should feel empowered by the law and not intimidated by it.”

Talk Justice episodes are and on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple, and other popular podcast apps. The podcast is sponsored by LSC’s Leaders Counsel.

The next episode of the podcast will feature an interview with Michigan Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack, who is approaching her final months on the state’s Supreme Court.