Courts and Lawyers in the Digital Age

A wave of new technologies is transforming the legal system. Courts are leveraging AI to ensure accuracy and increase participation; judges are using risk assessment tools to set bail and sentences; regulators are using AI to choose enforcement targets; and litigators are using tech tools to conduct discovery, perform legal analysis, and more. These developments call for bold and incisive debate about the law, policy, and ethics of technology. We aim to contribute to this conversation, and also work to equip the court and lawyer leaders of the future with the tools they will need to help society chart a wise, ethical, and humane course.

Three projects embody the Rhode Center’s work in this area. First, a groundbreaking partnership between Stanford Law School and LA Superior Court, the largest trial court in the country, that sets forth a blueprint for more innovative, modern, and accessible courts—and will rigorously test several justice innovations over the next several years. Second, a book—edited by the Center’s co-director, David Freeman Engstrom—offers a sweeping and in-depth look at technology’s impact, and potential impact, on the legal profession. Third, a collaboration involving Stanford, technology providers, and state courts in six states—from Alaska to Texas—aims to improve access to online filing for self-represented litigants by improving and simplifying courts’ back-end electronic filing infrastructure. Read more about each of these efforts at the links below.