Access to Justice Network Conference 2026

Name: Upstream Justice: Preventive Legal Tech That Catches Problems Early
Start: 2026-10-21T15:15:00-0400
End: 2026-10-21T16:45:00-0400

Upstream Justice: Preventive Legal Tech That Catches Problems Early

Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:15pm - 4:45pm EDT

Cincinnati Convention Center

Too many legal aid systems are built around crisis response — we meet people when the rent is already delinquent, the wage garnishment has already started, the custody conflict has already hardened, or the default judgment has already entered. What if we could reach people earlier? Could we surface legal risk before it becomes a legal emergency?
This session presents three tools that are doing exactly that, each approaching the problem from a different angle. The Legal Wellness Clinic's legal check-up model uses structured preventive screening — a repeatable intake process that surfaces latent legal issues across housing, consumer debt, family stability, employment, benefits, and estate planning, identifying risks that clients themselves may not recognize as legal problems. The design challenge is real: how do you screen broadly without becoming an unfocused "ask me anything" clinic, and how do you convince funders that preventing a case is as valuable as winning one?
Wisconsin's Legal Tune Up tool takes a technology-first approach. This free web-based application automatically searches public records across state agencies to identify license suspensions, evictions, convictions, child support arrears, and consumer debt — barriers that block housing, employment, and economic stability, often without the person knowing they exist. The tool identifies which records are eligible for removal or modification, outlines next steps for reinstatement, and connects users to legal services for items requiring attorney involvement. The session will cover the partnerships that made the tool possible, the data access challenges, and the newest extensions: a legal navigator program and a library initiative.
Chicago Advocate Legal's AJusticeLink introduces the most ambitious upstream intervention: a privacy-first mobile application that provides preventive legal triage for incoming text messages and emails. Rather than offering legal advice, AJusticeLink identifies potential legal issues in everyday communications — eviction notices, employment ultimatums, custody threats, benefits deadlines — assigns a risk level, explains why a message may be legally significant, and connects users to appropriate resources. The tool is intentionally limited to triage and information, not advice, with design choices grounded in ethical restraint around unauthorized practice of law.
After the three presentations, participants will do hands-on design work. Small groups choose one high-yield preventive domain — eviction risk, debt and collections, family stabilization, benefits preservation — and design a preventive intervention: What are the screening questions or digital triggers? What's the triage pathway from detection through self-help, brief advice, referral, and escalation? What's one follow-up mechanism that keeps the person connected? Groups report out and the room stress-tests each design: What breaks at scale? What creates risk? What's realistic with limited staffing?

Speakers

Andrew Sharp

Legal Wellness Clinic

Andrew Sharp, Esq. is the founder and Executive Director of Legal Wellness Clinic, a non-profit legal aid providing free legal check-ups in the Chicago, IL area. Andrew is also the Knowledge Strategy Manager for the Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS... Read More →

Chlece Walker-Neal-Murray

Chicago Advocate Legal

Jessie Lutter

Access to Justice Coordinator, LIFT Wisconsin

Jessie Lutter-Long is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Wisconsin. She obtained her B.F.A. from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and graduated with her J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 2019. After working as a staff attorney for Legal Action... Read More →

Wednesday October 21, 2026 3:15pm - 4:45pm EDT
Cincinnati Convention Center 537 Elm St, Cincinnati, OH 45202

Tech

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Access to Justice Network Conference 2026

Andrew Sharp

Chlece Walker-Neal-Murray

Jessie Lutter

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Success you have shared X tickets.

Access to Justice Network Conference 2026

Andrew Sharp

Chlece Walker-Neal-Murray

Jessie Lutter

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