August 25, 2025
By Bob Glaves | CBF Executive Director
In my June post, I gave you an overall take on how to think about AI in the legal context, and now comes the promised follow-up on thinking about it more specifically in the context of access to justice. This is the first of a two-part foray into this issue, focusing on procedural access to the court system in this part one.
As I said in my last post, if you hear someone crowing about AI being a magic solution, run away and run fast. However, when we look carefully at what we mean when we say “access to justice” and break it down into distinct elements, there is immense potential to significantly improve access. Helping people navigate the procedural aspects of participating in the court system and improving efficiency in the way the court functions are two fundamental ways AI can be transformative for access.
Start with the definition of access to justice
Any time we are talking about anything as a potential solution for access to justice, we should start with the definition. Yogi Berra’s immortal words ring true: “If you don’t know where you are going, you might end up somewhere else.” The CBF defines it thus:
Everyone facing a legal issue (1) has timely and affordable access to the level of legal help necessary for them to get a fair and efficient outcome on the merits of their legal issue, and (2) objectively can believe they were treated fairly in the process.
As this definition makes clear, getting the right result on the merits of course is necessary for someone to receive justice, but particularly when the stakes are higher, it matters just as much how that result is delivered, or procedural justice. Access to the right level of legal help is crucial on both fronts.
With that in mind, below are a few concrete ways that AI already is being used in this context and has the chance to make a much greater impact in improving procedural access and efficiency in the courts.*
Simplifying the Court Process
AI is not an excuse for us to take our pedal off the gas on simplifying our unnecessarily complicated legal system and improving the process. This remains one of the most fundamental ways we can improve access to justice and needs to be an even bigger priority today.
That said, AI may be able to expedite this work by taking a first crack at simplifying legal jargon, summarizing complex procedural information, or putting together practical step-by-step guides to navigate the requirements for a particular court matter (e.g., filing and “noticing up” a motion).
However, AI can only be the first step in the process, and lawyers, judges, clerks, and other legal professionals, of course, need to be involved in making sure these are accurate simplifications or process improvements. Big potential here.
Court Chatbots to Navigate Court Procedure
Court websites (both for the Circuit Court and Clerk of the Circuit Court) have long been the hub for critical information for accessing and navigating the court system. And while they have gotten much better at navigation, finding and acting on the information someone needs can continue to be a real challenge for people without lawyers, particularly for higher-volume court systems like Cook County.
Enter AI chatbots, which can help everyday people find what they need on the court website and act on it. The National Center on State Courts has a helpful guide for courts to consider how they can utilize chatbots to improve access, and this is an area with great promise to improve procedural access.
Court Forms and E-Filing
E-filing is one of those developments that, like hybrid court appearances, can really improve access and efficiency in material ways. People do not have to come all the way to the courthouse to file paperwork or handle more routine court appearances in their cases when they can navigate the associated technology.
E-filing can be much harder for unrepresented litigants, however, and many people still come to the courthouse just to get assistance in navigating this complicated process. The same goes for completing the procedural court forms necessary to participate in their case.
AI has great potential to break down the e-filing process and the associated process for someone to complete and file their necessary court forms. The suite of “Easy Forms” on Illinois Legal Aid Online is just one example of how automated court forms already are improving access, and when these tools can be more seamlessly connected to court e-filing systems, it will have a huge impact for everyday people accessing the courts.
The Court Record
It is hardly news that for most parts of the court system, there have not been court reporters present regularly, if at all, for many years now. Electronic court recording for the official court record is now the norm on the civil side of the courts, and Illinois is one of many jurisdictions that permit the court’s electronic recording to be used as the official court record.
Written transcripts are often still required for many types of matters, though, including appeals from administrative agencies. And as a practical matter, transcripts are usually considered necessary for the judges and the parties to evaluate and decide cases. As a result, parties generally are required to obtain written transcripts from the oral recording from a shrinking pool of certified court reporters, causing often significant delays in the court process and substantial added expense that can be a barrier to access.
This is an area where AI speech-to-text transcription has vast potential to both improve the flow of these cases and reduce the expense involved with getting certified transcripts. TheRecordXchange is one of several innovative companies working in this space and helping courts use automated speech-to-text solutions as a supplement to the official court record. The electronic recording remains the official court record in cases where this is used, but the parties and judges can use the speech-to-text transcription for evaluation, verifying any key passages for the case in the oral record.
Language Access
Language access is another area where AI has real potential to improve access and efficiency and reduce expenses in the court process. Access to certified interpreters is limited for most areas of the court, often leading the delays and otherwise unnecessary continuances of court cases, as well as significant added expense to bring in outside interpreting services.
While not as far along in accuracy as the speech-to-text solutions noted above, AI translation services are getting better all the time and can make the courts more efficient and accessible both for in-court hearings as well as for other procedural steps in the court process (e.g., court forms, e-filing systems). The National Center for State Courts is a great resource for moving forward on these issues.
Overarching Considerations in Using AI in this Context
This post is not an exclusive list of the ways AI can improve procedural access. However, I hope it gives you an idea of some of the concrete ways that AI already is being used to improve access and has the potential to make a transformative difference in improving procedural access and efficiency in the courts for everyone, particularly people who come into the system without lawyers.
As we collectively continue to build out these solutions, a recent article by Margaret Hagan offers some very important and practical guidance on the overarching considerations for implementing AI tools in this context.
Procedural Access is Just the Start
Improving procedural access is a critical component of improving access to justice, but it is just the starting point. In part two of this post next month, I will talk about some of the ways it can improve access to the continuum of assistance necessary for someone to reach a fair and efficient resolution on their legal issue.
* Shortly after I originally wrote this post, I attended the Court Technology Conference hosted by the National Center on State Courts. The conference highlighted the many ways that AI already is being used by many courts around the country to improve efficiency and procedural access, but also underscored there are key areas where AI is not yet ready for prime time (e.g., language access) or very much remains a work in progress (e.g., court chatbots).