{"id":139606,"date":"2025-12-22T14:27:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T22:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/22\/ai-is-a-public-health-intervention-kara-peterson-on-why-access-to-law-is-a-justice-issue-not-just-a-legal-one\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T14:27:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T22:27:15","slug":"ai-is-a-public-health-intervention-kara-peterson-on-why-access-to-law-is-a-justice-issue-not-just-a-legal-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/22\/ai-is-a-public-health-intervention-kara-peterson-on-why-access-to-law-is-a-justice-issue-not-just-a-legal-one\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018AI Is A Public Health Intervention\u2019: Kara Peterson On Why Access To Law Is A Justice Issue, Not Just A Legal One"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Kara Peterson co-founded descrybe.ai, she wasn\u2019t just launching a legal tech startup. She was applying the logic of public health to the legal system. She saw something lawyers often miss: that legal information, like clean water or vaccines, becomes life-altering only when it is accessible, understandable, and widely distributed.<\/p>\n

Kara is not a lawyer. Her background is in public health and communications. Yet she now leads a company that has used AI to summarize more than 3.3 million judicial opinions and made them free and publicly available. In our conversation on \u201cNotes to My (Legal) Self,\u201d she explained how justice, like health, is a public good. And access to law is one of its critical delivery systems.<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Legal Transparency Is A Health Equity Issue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kara grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, in a culture steeped in social justice. Her early experiences shaped a worldview that makes her uniquely suited to build bridges between legal complexity and everyday reality. As she puts it, \u201cAccess to the law is so deeply connected to other systemic problems. This is a way to attack something that\u2019s been broken for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

From a public health lens, the connection is obvious. People struggle to find housing, defend themselves at work, or navigate family law \u2014 not because they lack intelligence but because they lack access. And when legal literacy is only triggered by trauma, as when someone is fired, evicted, or sued, we are setting up millions of people to fail.<\/p>\n

Legal information, when made legible before the crisis hits, becomes preventive infrastructure. It is no different than distributing hand-washing guides or vaccination instructions.<\/p>\n

Human Bias Already Exists. AI Just Makes It Visible<\/strong><\/p>\n

Much of the fear surrounding AI in law is valid. But Kara is quick to point out that many of the risks we associate with machines are already deeply embedded in human systems.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf we had a judicial system that was completely fair and didn\u2019t ever take people\u2019s biases into account, that would be hard to match. But we know that\u2019s not how it works.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Her point is not that AI is perfect. It is that our current legal infrastructure is far from it. And if we judge new tools by perfection while accepting the flaws of legacy systems as inevitable, we stall innovation. Instead, she suggests we approach AI as we would a new public health tool.<\/p>\n

We evaluate its safety. We understand its limits. We measure impact. And we keep a human in the loop not to preserve tradition, but to preserve context and accountability.<\/p>\n

Law Should Not Be A Trauma-Only Language<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most striking moments in our conversation came when we discussed how most people \u201clearn\u201d the law.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t learn employment law until we\u2019re fired.
We don\u2019t understand custody law until we divorce.
We don\u2019t engage with IP law until our work is stolen.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always after something painful,\u201d Kara noted. \u201cAnd even when you\u2019re educated, even when you have attorneys in the family, it\u2019s still incredibly hard to understand the system.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is exactly where legal tech can intervene, not just to reduce time or cost, but to reduce the harm of delayed understanding.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why at TermScout, we certify contracts not just for fairness, but for clarity. We want contract reviews to feel less like damage control and more like informed consent. When people can see, compare, and understand the terms of a deal in plain language, they gain agency.<\/p>\n

Justice Tech Is Business Tech For The Rest Of Us<\/strong><\/p>\n

What Kara and her team at descrybe.ai are doing parallels what we do at TermScout. They\u2019re making judicial opinions legible. We\u2019re making contracts legible. Both models are designed to scale clarity<\/em>, not just output.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the deeper takeaway here.<\/p>\n

The justice gap and the contract gap are part of the same problem: society has accepted legal opacity as normal.<\/p>\n

But it doesn\u2019t have to be.<\/p>\n

If we can explain a 30-page legal opinion to a nonlawyer, we can explain a vendor contract to a startup founder. If we can summarize a complex ruling with an AI model, we can certify a set of terms with a standard.<\/p>\n

Kara reminded us that not all impact lives in the courtroom. Some of the most meaningful change comes when you give people tools before they\u2019re in crisis.<\/p>\n

The law is not just for the few. It is infrastructure. And when we treat access to it like a public health mission, we stop asking how much harm we can tolerate and start designing systems that prevent it altogether.<\/p>\n

\n

Olga V. Mack<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is the CEO of\u00a0TermScout<\/a>, an AI-powered contract certification platform that accelerates revenue and eliminates friction by certifying contracts as fair, balanced, and market-ready. A serial CEO and legal tech executive, she previously led a company through a successful acquisition by LexisNexis. Olga is also a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Fellow at CodeX, The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, and the Generative AI Editor at law.MIT. She is a visionary executive reshaping how we law\u2014how legal systems are built, experienced, and trusted. Olga\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>teaches at Berkeley Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, lectures widely, and advises companies of all sizes, as well as boards and institutions. An award-winning general counsel turned builder, she also leads early-stage ventures including\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Virtual Gabby (Better Parenting Plan)<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Product Law Hub<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>ESI Flow<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Notes to My (Legal) Self<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, each rethinking the practice and business of law through technology, data, and human-centered design. She has authored\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Rise of Product Lawyers<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Legal Operations in the Age of AI and Data<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Blockchain Value<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Get on Board<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, with\u00a0Visual IQ for Lawyers\u00a0(ABA) forthcoming. Olga is a 6x TEDx speaker and has been recognized as a Silicon Valley Woman of Influence and an ABA Woman in Legal Tech. Her work reimagines people\u2019s relationship with law\u2014making it more accessible, inclusive, data-driven, and aligned with how the world actually works. She is also the host of the Notes to My (Legal) Self podcast (streaming on\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Spotify<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Apple Podcasts<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>YouTube<\/em><\/strong><\/a>), and her insights regularly appear in Forbes, Bloomberg Law, Newsweek, VentureBeat, ACC Docket, and Above the Law. She earned her B.A. and J.D. from UC Berkeley. Follow her on\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>LinkedIn<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and X @olgavmack.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post \u2018AI Is A Public Health Intervention\u2019: Kara Peterson On Why Access To Law Is A Justice Issue, Not Just A Legal One<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Kara Peterson co-founded descrybe.ai, she wasn\u2019t just launching a legal tech startup. She was applying the logic of public health to the legal system. She saw something lawyers often miss: that legal information, like clean water or vaccines, becomes life-altering only when it is accessible, understandable, and widely distributed.<\/p>\n

Kara is not a lawyer. Her background is in public health and communications. Yet she now leads a company that has used AI to summarize more than 3.3 million judicial opinions and made them free and publicly available. In our conversation on \u201cNotes to My (Legal) Self,\u201d she explained how justice, like health, is a public good. And access to law is one of its critical delivery systems.<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Legal Transparency Is A Health Equity Issue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kara grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, in a culture steeped in social justice. Her early experiences shaped a worldview that makes her uniquely suited to build bridges between legal complexity and everyday reality. As she puts it, \u201cAccess to the law is so deeply connected to other systemic problems. This is a way to attack something that\u2019s been broken for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

From a public health lens, the connection is obvious. People struggle to find housing, defend themselves at work, or navigate family law \u2014 not because they lack intelligence but because they lack access. And when legal literacy is only triggered by trauma, as when someone is fired, evicted, or sued, we are setting up millions of people to fail.<\/p>\n

Legal information, when made legible before the crisis hits, becomes preventive infrastructure. It is no different than distributing hand-washing guides or vaccination instructions.<\/p>\n

Human Bias Already Exists. AI Just Makes It Visible<\/strong><\/p>\n

Much of the fear surrounding AI in law is valid. But Kara is quick to point out that many of the risks we associate with machines are already deeply embedded in human systems.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf we had a judicial system that was completely fair and didn\u2019t ever take people\u2019s biases into account, that would be hard to match. But we know that\u2019s not how it works.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Her point is not that AI is perfect. It is that our current legal infrastructure is far from it. And if we judge new tools by perfection while accepting the flaws of legacy systems as inevitable, we stall innovation. Instead, she suggests we approach AI as we would a new public health tool.<\/p>\n

We evaluate its safety. We understand its limits. We measure impact. And we keep a human in the loop not to preserve tradition, but to preserve context and accountability.<\/p>\n

Law Should Not Be A Trauma-Only Language<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most striking moments in our conversation came when we discussed how most people \u201clearn\u201d the law.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t learn employment law until we\u2019re fired.
We don\u2019t understand custody law until we divorce.
We don\u2019t engage with IP law until our work is stolen.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always after something painful,\u201d Kara noted. \u201cAnd even when you\u2019re educated, even when you have attorneys in the family, it\u2019s still incredibly hard to understand the system.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is exactly where legal tech can intervene, not just to reduce time or cost, but to reduce the harm of delayed understanding.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why at TermScout, we certify contracts not just for fairness, but for clarity. We want contract reviews to feel less like damage control and more like informed consent. When people can see, compare, and understand the terms of a deal in plain language, they gain agency.<\/p>\n

Justice Tech Is Business Tech For The Rest Of Us<\/strong><\/p>\n

What Kara and her team at descrybe.ai are doing parallels what we do at TermScout. They\u2019re making judicial opinions legible. We\u2019re making contracts legible. Both models are designed to scale clarity<\/em>, not just output.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the deeper takeaway here.<\/p>\n

The justice gap and the contract gap are part of the same problem: society has accepted legal opacity as normal.<\/p>\n

But it doesn\u2019t have to be.<\/p>\n

If we can explain a 30-page legal opinion to a nonlawyer, we can explain a vendor contract to a startup founder. If we can summarize a complex ruling with an AI model, we can certify a set of terms with a standard.<\/p>\n

Kara reminded us that not all impact lives in the courtroom. Some of the most meaningful change comes when you give people tools before they\u2019re in crisis.<\/p>\n

The law is not just for the few. It is infrastructure. And when we treat access to it like a public health mission, we stop asking how much harm we can tolerate and start designing systems that prevent it altogether.<\/p>\n

\n

Olga V. Mack<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is the CEO of\u00a0TermScout<\/a>, an AI-powered contract certification platform that accelerates revenue and eliminates friction by certifying contracts as fair, balanced, and market-ready. A serial CEO and legal tech executive, she previously led a company through a successful acquisition by LexisNexis. Olga is also a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Fellow at CodeX, The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, and the Generative AI Editor at law.MIT. She is a visionary executive reshaping how we law\u2014how legal systems are built, experienced, and trusted. Olga\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>teaches at Berkeley Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, lectures widely, and advises companies of all sizes, as well as boards and institutions. An award-winning general counsel turned builder, she also leads early-stage ventures including\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Virtual Gabby (Better Parenting Plan)<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Product Law Hub<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>ESI Flow<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Notes to My (Legal) Self<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, each rethinking the practice and business of law through technology, data, and human-centered design. She has authored\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Rise of Product Lawyers<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Legal Operations in the Age of AI and Data<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Blockchain Value<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Get on Board<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, with\u00a0Visual IQ for Lawyers\u00a0(ABA) forthcoming. Olga is a 6x TEDx speaker and has been recognized as a Silicon Valley Woman of Influence and an ABA Woman in Legal Tech. Her work reimagines people\u2019s relationship with law\u2014making it more accessible, inclusive, data-driven, and aligned with how the world actually works. She is also the host of the Notes to My (Legal) Self podcast (streaming on\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Spotify<\/em><\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Apple Podcasts<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>YouTube<\/em><\/strong><\/a>), and her insights regularly appear in Forbes, Bloomberg Law, Newsweek, VentureBeat, ACC Docket, and Above the Law. She earned her B.A. and J.D. from UC Berkeley. Follow her on\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>LinkedIn<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and X @olgavmack.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post \u2018AI Is A Public Health Intervention\u2019: Kara Peterson On Why Access To Law Is A Justice Issue, Not Just A Legal One<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Kara Peterson co-founded descrybe.ai, she wasn\u2019t just launching a legal tech startup. She was applying the logic of public health to the legal system. She saw something lawyers often miss: that legal information, like clean water or vaccines, becomes life-altering only when it is accessible, understandable, and widely distributed. Kara is not a lawyer. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":139582,"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":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-1475813704-scaled-CnPNXn.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139606","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=139606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}