We can’t have access to justice without the rule of law. In a state of lawlessness, “access” means nothing. Our struggle isn’t to navigate a broken system — it’s to defend democracy and restore the rule of law.

Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them. — Assata Shakur #RestInPower

Proud to welcome @aydemir.bsky.social to Courtroom5 as CTO! Brilliant mind, mission-driven heart. He’s building tools to put power in the hands of people going to court without a lawyer. Game on. 🔥 #legaltech #access2justice #Courtroom5 courtroom5.com/news/courtro...

In 125 years, what was old is new again.

I’m proud to live in a sanctuary city. I wish we could figure out how to stop ICE from arresting innocent people who’ve been called to appear at a local courthouse, especially since there are no judicial warrants for these arrests. ncnewsline.com/2025/07/23/d...

No real court would allow lawyers to file legal documents anonymously. But immigration “courts” are a sham. They’re actually part of the executive branch and thus subject to presidential decree. Their warrants are no such thing. They can’t provide due process. Their decrees should be ignored.

📢 Do you deserve an award for legal innovation? 🏆 Nominations are now OPEN for the American Legal Technology Awards! Submit nomination: americanlegaltechnology.com#submit-nomin... Deadline: July 31, 2025! Self-nominations okay. 👍 #LegalTech #Innovation #ALTA2025 #Lawyers

Job #1 for all of us in legal is to find a way to make the law meaningful again.

Everyone deserves access to justice, regardless of income. But now justice is in jeopardy. The White House has proposed defunding the @LegalServicesCorp.bsky.social (LSC) completely. Donate now to help keep justice within reach! lsc.networkforgood.com #LSCMatters

If you think there’s a crisis in the rule of law now, wait until we lose legal aid. Don’t let it happen. #LSCmatters

🚨 Trump wants to eliminate @LegalServicesCorp.bsky.social — but in NC, every $1 invested in legal aid returns $10.80 in public savings. Cutting LSC is cruel and costly. My op-ed is live today in Raleigh, Durham, & Charlotte.
📖 www.newsobserver.com/opinion/arti... 
#LSCMatters #LegalAid

If a foreign adversary snuck into our Federal budget and cut science research and education the way we’re cutting it ourselves — strategically undermining America’s long-term health, wealth, and security — we would likely consider it an act of war.

Interested in AI and #accesstojustice? Come check us out tomorrow!

So grateful for this band of #accesstojustice innovators working to put legal technologies in the hands of self-represented litigants. Thanks for the shoutout!

#IAALS and @dukelaw.bsky.social kick off a new #webinar series next week — and JTA Ecosystem Members are in the mix! 👤 @sonja.courtroom5.com (Courtroom5) 👤 Jeff Ward (Duke Center on Law & Tech) 🗓️ Apr 30 | 3PM ET Topic: Legal markets, innovation & UPL 🔗 buff.ly/R6x2vho #JusticeTech #LegalAI

#Sinners. Go see it. More than once. IMAX if possible. It’s brilliant and important. Transgressive and transformative. Timely. Enabling. Don’t wait for streaming. Just go.

I did not have Gustavo Dudamel/LA Philharmonic/Cynthia Erivo/Purple Rain on my Coachella 2025 Bingo card But thankful it happened

It’s impossible to contemplate an executive ignoring a Supreme Court decision in the absence of an #accesstojustice crisis. Even acknowledging the contempt this government has for the people, no executive would risk violating a #ruleoflaw in which the people broadly had faith.

“Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever… The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in such a contest.” — Thomas “Woke” Jefferson Keep it going.

@lawdroid.bsky.social was such a gracious host at last week’s LawDroid - Generative AI Legal Technology conference, making sure all presenters felt welcomed and comfortable. Anyway, I’m proud to share the 🏆 winning 🏆 Lightning Pitch from Courtroom5. drive.google.com/file/d/1F0uk...

No one will confuse me for a constitutional scholar, but one thing I know for sure is that the People - not the courts - are the ultimate guarantors of the Constitution. It’s the reason courts lack enforcement power. Enforcement is left to us. This is the time to test that power.

I am humbled and grateful to see @Courtroom5.com voted both Judges’ Choice and Audience Choice for Lightning Pitches at the LawDroid - Generative AI Legal Technology conference. Congrats to all the products presented today, and congrats to @lawdroid.bsky.social on a great conference! #justicetech 🚀

“The call to erase the rule of law and institute a dictatorship is more than just an attack on individuals’ rights. It is fundamentally an attack on the supreme power of the American people.” - Heather Cox Richardson open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...

Had a great time showing off @Courtroom5.com’s platform for self-represented litigants at yesterday’s “Artificial Intelligence in Legal Aid” group call. We discussed how #justicetech like ours helps people hire lawyers for limited-scope services. View the demo and Q&A: zoom.us/rec/share/WY...

There’s a reason the First Amendment is first. If a government disrespects the right to free speech, it disrespects all rights. IOW the people have no rights their government is bound to respect. #Plessy4All

Great resource for those moving from x to Bluesky…

No lies detected.

Thanks to the @justicetechassn.bsky.social for this #BlackHistoryMonth recognition. We out here. 🔥

I have an ample critique of the courts. But one reason the judicial branch is the most democratic is the expectation that its decisions be explained. They at least try to make sense. Feet in the streets are needed to stop executive madness, but this exercise of moral authority will be a precursor.

The latest from the Scaling A2J series - a collaboration between @mayamarkovich.bsky.social & Thomson Reuters - this article with @sonja.courtroom5.com and Erin Levine explores how partnerships between lawyers and justice tech startups can scale impact and expand justice equity.

It’s impossible to understand US history, particularly current events, without an appreciation of Black history. Happy #BlackHistoryMonth. www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

Sliding into the weekend with this delightful interview with @shelliereid.bsky.social at the Legal Services National Technology Access Project. We talked about what’s wrong with the legal system, what it means to get it right, and how Courtroom5 aims to be part of the solution. youtu.be/cH1yQT2kvqY

Nice way to end the week. Thomson Reuters published an article I co-authored with @mayamarkovich.bsky.social and Erin Levine about the ways #justicetech like Courtroom5 can make access to lawyers easier and more affordable. Check it out! www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/...

Prof. Klarman is brilliant. Register if you can. hls.harvard.edu/today/a-new-...

I don’t know about you, but what I read between the lines is a reminder that our courts are the polite way of resolving disputes, not the only way. This AG talks like she’s got options. When a state’s top law enforcer calls the president a criminal, it’s a call to options.

Okay go awf, American Bar Association. I am not a lawyer but this is why I pay ABA dues. “We urge every attorney to join us and insist that our government, a government of the people, follow the law.” www.americanbar.org/news/abanews...

Representing yourself in court is hard. Everyone knows what justice is, and we expect courts to deliver justice. But at their best, courts deliver only process. And laypeople don’t know how to use the process. If you’re in court without a lawyer, get started at Courtroom5 today. courtroom5.com

Sadly the courts will not right this capsizing ship. They’ve been failing us for many years, and even when they choose to act, they can’t enforce their orders. Their injunctions are already being ignored. No, the only guarantors of the Constitution are feet in the streets.

Democracy isn’t measured by votes. It’s measured by the extent to which those empowered by votes at least pretend to try to act with the consent of the governed. By some accounts - including my own - our rulers crossed that Rubicon some time ago and never looked back. This #outrage is refreshing.

Highly recommend this fascinating interview with Turkish journalist Eve Temelkuran on how to respond to the closure of democracy. #thinkglobal newint.org/democracy/20...

IJS it doesn’t take this long to get the US Constitution back online at the White House website. It may be that 47 is as high as we can count. www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-wh...

Leonard Peltier was wrongly convicted and should’ve received a pardon. I’m grateful he is free.

One reason it’s so difficult to represent yourself in court is that we don’t expect to need special training to use the law. And that’s because we shouldn’t need special training. The law should be broadly usable by everyone it governs, especially in a democracy. But it just isn’t.

This is math. They either #divideandconquer or we #eattherich. Ethicist Peter Singer proved that hoarding wealth was evil in 1972. To defend and protect that evil, the rich have been playing the same race card since Bacon’s rebellion. Ain’t y’all tired?

Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 charges but won't face any punishment — and will be back in the White House this month. Nearly 800 prisoners are now helping to battle Los Angeles fires, making as little as $5.80 per day. A tale of two justice systems.

Lawyers should try harder to restrain themselves from making fun of pro se litigants. This claim should not have been filed (and wouldn’t have with Courtroom5). But that doesn’t absolve the profession from its responsibility to fix the market failure that drives people to get messy in court.

I’ve been trying to understand how we got to a 90% default rate in consumer debt cases. When 9 out of 10 people sued don’t even bother to show up, you may as well shut down the courts. There’s no way a democracy treats its people this way. #mathaintmathing debtcollectionlab.org/research/one...