i4J Courses

 

Become an i4J social justice innovator.

Students from graduate disciplines at the University of Utah and University of Arizona work together in 100% virtual, live, community-engaged, project-based i4J courses.

Learn more about i4J courses below, and apply now!

i4J courses

i4J teaches the following entry-level courses: Innovating Legal Services, Legal Innovation for Policy Advocacy, and UX4Justice. Leadership in Legal Innovation (see below) is available for students who have completed an entry-level course.

In Fall 2024, i4J is offering: UX4Justice and Innovating Legal Services.

  • UX4Justice (3 Credits)

    UA LAW 697
    UU LAW 7621
    UU STRAT 6610

    Fall 2024 (Tentative): Tues. + Thurs.
    1:30-3:20 p.m. AZ* / 2:30-4:20 p.m. UT
    (*class may start 1 hour later after 11/3)

    98% of low-income domestic violence survivors will experience a civil legal need this year, and 88% of low-income survivors will receive inadequate or no legal help. Securing a protective order is a critical first step for many survivors exiting abuse. Courts across the nation are adopting new online processes for court users without counsel, including online portals for filing protective order petitions.

    In Fall 2024, UX4Justice students will conduct community-engaged research to evaluate and iteratively redesign an online portal for e-filing protective orders. Using design thinking, systems thinking, and user experience (UX) research and design methodologies, UX4Justice students will develop UX design recommendations that empower domestic violence survivors to more easily and safely file petitions for protective orders online on their own. No tech or design experience required!

    Projects produced by this course include the Nation’s First UX Evaluation of an ODR, a UX Discovery for Nevada’s New Online Protection Order Portal, a UX Discovery for Michigan's Office of Child Support, and a UX Evaluation of Alaska's Benefactor Tool for SSD Applications.

    For more information, visit i4J’s System Impact Area.

  • Innovating Legal Services (3 Credits)

    UA LAW 672A
    UU LAW 7622
    UU STRAT 6600

    Fall 2024 (Tentative): Mon. + Wed.
    1:30-3:20 p.m. AZ* / 2:30-4:20 p.m. UT
    (*class may start 1 hour later after 11/3)

    More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States. The United States Supreme Court in Johnson v. Avery and Bounds v. Smith held that incarcerated individuals have a well-established right to access the courts, which can include helping other incarcerated individuals with their legal issues. In prisons across the US, a network of jailhouse lawyers learn and use the law to protect their rights and the rights of their fellow inmates. However, when these jailhouse lawyers go home, unauthorized practice of law restrictions prohibit them from using their legal knowledge to help their communities.

    In Fall 2024, ILS students will work with the Jailhouse Lawyers Initiative, including currently and formerly incarcerated jailhouse lawyers, to understand the legal empowerment potential of jailhouse lawyers to address the civil justice crisis in justice-impacted communities.

    Projects produced by this course include the Domestic Violence Legal Advocate (DVLA) and the Medical Debt Legal Advocate (MDLA) initiatives.

    For more information, visit i4J’s Service Impact Area.

  • Legal Innovation for Policy Advocacy (3 Credits)

    UA LAW 672
    UU LAW 7620
    UU STRAT 6620

    Not offered Fall 2024.

    Effective systems-level change requires access to - and amplification of - accurate and usable information about social justice problems and their ripple effects. In this course, students work with and within community to co-create tools that aggregate the information advocates need to call for and advance disruptive change in their communities.

    Projects produced by this course include the Medical Debt Policy Scorecard, Hello Landlord and the RENT Project.

    For more information, visit i4J’s Structure Impact Area.

i4J students & alumni

 

i4J leadership and fellowship opportunities

Opportunities for students who have completed at least one i4J course.

  • Leadership in Legal Innovation (3 Credits)

    UA LAW 672B
    UU LAW 7623
    UU STRAT 6850-094

    Leadership in Legal Innovation provides an opportunity for students who have completed an entry-level i4J course to advance their legal innovation skills. Leadership students play an active role within i4J as either a mentor in an entry-level i4J course or a leader for an ongoing i4J research or outreach project

  • Snell & Wilmer John Bouma i4J Fellow

    Funded through a generous gift from the law firm of Snell & Wilmer, the fellowship is available to one student each semester who has completed an i4J course. The John Bouma Fellow serves as a valuable mentor to incoming i4J students and advances work on projects generated by i4J courses.

  • Access to Justice Tech Fellow

    The A2J Tech Fellows program is a 501 (c)(3) organization housed and in affiliation with The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s Future of the Profession Initiative (FPI). Each summer, i4J hosts an A2J Tech Fellow for an immersive, 10-week, full-time summer experience advancing i4J’s work.