Lack of technical resources (3.2 out of 10).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThese challenges highlight the complex considerations legal aid organizations face when implementing AI, particularly given their ethical obligations to vulnerable client populations and limited financial resources.<\/p>\n
Spotlight on North Carolina<\/h3>\n
The report spotlights Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) as an example of innovative AI implementation. The state\u2019s largest nonprofit law firm serves 300,000 people annually seeking help with issues such as domestic violence and unlawful eviction.<\/p>\n
LANC is testing an AI-powered voice agent for initial intake that operates 24\/7 in multiple languages, addressing accessibility challenges for clients in rural areas or those with transportation issues.<\/p>\n
By automating this foundational step, LANC\u2019s 200 statewide attorneys can focus on high-value work such as court appearances and client advocacy, the survey notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will never be able to \u2018lawyer ourselves\u2019 out of this access-to-justice crisis,\u201d said LANC\u2019s Chief Innovation Officer Scheree Gilchrist in the survey report. \u201cAI is a force multiplier to scale our services.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Powerful Tool for Legal Aid<\/h3>\n
According to experts cited in the report, the study\u2019s findings align with broader observations about AI\u2019s democratizing potential in legal services.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerative AI offers a rare chance to address this crisis,\u201d said Kristen Sonday, cofounder and CEO of Paladin. \u201cIt can democratize legal information, simplify processes, and offer meaningful legal tools at scale.\u201d<\/p>\n
The survey results suggest that legal aid organizations view AI not as a threat to legal employment, but as a crucial tool for expanding access to justice. The technology appears to be enabling these organizations to stretch limited resources further while maintaining quality representation for vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n
\u201cProfessionals across the access to justice community are embracing this technology as a crucial ally in the long-term fight to close the persistent justice gap,\u201d the report concludes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t about automating jobs or taking work away from lawyers; it\u2019s about equipping advocates with a powerful new instrument to manage complex caseloads, streamline tasks, and supercharge their capacity to serve more clients more effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n
Methodology and Participants<\/h3>\n
The survey was conducted in May 2025 by Everlaw in partnership with NLADA, Paladin and LawSites.<\/p>\n
It surveyed 112 legal aid society professionals, examining their AI usage patterns, perceptions of AI\u2019s potential to support access to justice, and views on how AI might help their organizations better serve people facing housing, family, employment, and other critical legal issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A study examining artificial intelligence adoption in legal aid organizations has revealed that these resource-constrained nonprofits are embracing AI technology at nearly double the rate of the broader legal profession, driven by the urgent need to serve millions of underserved Americans. The survey, The AI Advantage: How Technology Can Help Bridge the Justice Gap, was\u00a0conducted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":133848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lawsite"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Everlaw-AI-Legal-Aid-Report-Featured-1024x576-0aFAyr.png?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lawnext.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AI-address-a2j-gap-891x1024.png?resize=400%2C460&ssl=1\" "\\"\\""){kind=spacer}
<\/a>The study\u2019s most striking finding centers on legal aid professionals\u2019 optimism about AI\u2019s potential impact: 88% of respondents believe AI can help address the access to justice gap to some extent, with 34% saying it can help \u201cto a great extent.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lawnext.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/How-Many-More-Clients-812x1024.png?resize=400%2C504&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>The Legal Services Corporation estimates that nearly one of every two people who qualify for legal aid are turned away due to lack of resources.<\/p>\n