Progress
Innovation for Justice is designed to radically transform access to justice for systemically disinvested communities across the U.S.
Take a look at the change we’ve unlocked since our launch in 2018.
2018
August
Innovation for Justice is founded at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law!
2020
April
i4J’s Cost of Eviction Calculator is a finalist in the Georgetown Law Iron Tech Lawyer Invitational 2020; the Calculator becomes a valuable advocacy tool for housing stability during COVID.
June
Arizona becomes the first state to authorize a community-based justice worker model through explicit modification of its relevant UPL restriction: Innovation for Justice’s Domestic Violence Legal Advocates (“DVLA,” formerly “Licensed Legal Advocate”) Initiative.
The DVLA Initiative is launched as a county-specific pilot with community partner Emerge Center Against Domestic Abuse in Pima County, AZ.
July
Innovation for Justice publishes the first UX evaluation of online dispute resolution in the US.
November
Innovation for Justice publishes Costs of COVID-19 Evictions.
December
Innovation for Justice publishes the interim report about the design and promise of the Medical Debt Legal Advocate Initiative, featuring multiple training pathways to advance medical debt advocacy.
2021
April
Two i4J-trained lay advocates at Emerge Center Against Domestic Abuse launch in Pima County, Arizona, becoming the state’s first community-based justice workers through i4J’s Domestic Violence Legal Advocate Initiative.
May
Holy Cross Ministries, in partnership with Innovation for Justice, secures Utah Sandbox authorization for the Medical Debt Legal Advocate Initiative, becoming i4J’s first community-based justice worker model in Utah.
In response to recommendations made during i4J’s UX evaluation of Utah’s online dispute resolution platform, the Utah State Courts adopts mandated court forms that contain simplified URLs and QR codes that direct readers to three pages of the Utah State Court Self-Help Center website. i4J conducted a UX Evaluation of the Self-Help Center website.
August
Innovation for Justice expands to University of Utah David Eccles School of Business!
2022
January
i4J presents a proposal to the Arizona Supreme Court and Utah Supreme Court recommending an expansion of allied legal professional programs. This proposal will eventually become the Housing Stability Legal Advocate Initiative, receiving Court authorization in both states in 2023.
March
i4J’s Domestic Violence Legal Advocate Initiative receives an honorable mention from the 2022 World Justice Challenge, becoming the only US Justice Project to receive recognition this year.
May
i4J publishes its UX Discovery of Michigan’s Child Support.
Innovation for Justice publishes the Medical Debt Policy Scorecard, which contributes to medical debt policy change in seven states across the U.S.
August
Holy Cross Ministries, in partnership with Innovation for Justice, secures an updated Authorizing Order from the Utah Supreme Court extending the authorization period until the termination of the Utah regulatory sandbox or permanent licensure.
2023
January
i4J publishes initial findings based on four years of data collected in designing unauthorized practice of law reform service models.
The Arizona Supreme Court authorizes i4J’s Housing Stability Legal Advocate (HSLA) Initiative statewide.
The Arizona Supreme Court authorizes i4J’s Domestic Violence Legal Advocate Initiative for statewide expansion.
i4J publishes a report exploring embedding regulatory reform-based civil justice problem-solving in patient care in West Valley, UT.
March
April
i4J’s UX evaluation and prototype redesign of Benefactor, Alaska’s Social Security benefits application navigator tool, wins the Best in Digital Health Award at Bench to Bedside, Utah's top health care innovation competition.
i4J published an updated Housing Stability Legal Advocate report now that the Initiative has authorization in both states.
May
The first i4J-trained Medical Debt Legal Advocates complete coursework and begin providing limited-scope legal services at community partner Holy Cross Ministries in Utah.
The Arizona Supreme Court’s decision to authorize i4J’s Domestic Violence Legal Advocate Initiative receives recognition from the White House Gender Policy Council.
June
i4J publishes a how-to guide lessening the burden on healthcare system actors who wish to embed community-based justice workers in healthcare settings.
December
i4J publishes its first law review article about the Service Impact Area Initiatives in the Law Journal for Social Justice.
2024
January
i4J publishes a UX discovery for Nevada’s new statewide civil protection order portal.
i4J publishes its second law review article about the Service Impact Area, this time focusing on the design and promise of the Housing Stability Legal Advocate Initiative in the ABA Journal of Affordable Housing and Community Development Law
February
i4J enrolls a joint statewide cohort of 37 advocates from 22 community-based organizations to its Domestic Violence Legal Advocate and Housing Stability Legal Advocate Initiatives in Arizona.
March
i4J receives recognition from Director Rachel Rossi of the US Department of Justice Office for Access to Justice for its efforts to advance community-based justice work.
May
i4J becomes a subrecipient of a $1.4 million grant awarded by the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). The grant will allow i4J to assist NCSC in providing technical assistance to implement the Ensuring Safety and Access in Virtual Civil Protection Order Processes Project.
August
i4J starts a UX evaluation of Indiana's statewide civil protection order portal to review and redesign the digital tool with court and community input to make it more trauma-informed and easier to access and use.
September
i4J enters into partnership with Community Justice Advocates of Utah (CJAU) to support the statewide expansion of the HSLA and MDLA Programs in Utah via attorney mentorship, joint program administration, and quality assurance of justice workers' limited-scope legal services.
October
Across Fall 2024, i4J hosted a multi-part webinar series, "A Place Called Justice:" Celebrating 5 Years of Community-Based Justice Work, to mark 5 years of co-designing solutions to the access to justice crisis with and in service of communities in AZ and UT. Keynote speakers included justice workers in i4J's network, fellow movement leaders, the Chief Justices of the AZ and UT Supreme Courts, NCSC, the UT Bar Foundation, and the AZ Administrative Office of the Courts.
2025
February
i4J receives an external SROI analysis by Community Services Analysis LLC of the projected impacts of its Community Legal Education Programs, including nearly 13,000% Social Return on Investment and $12+ million in estimated direct service value across 2025 alone.
March
As the result of nearly a year of advocacy and over half a decade of intentional legal service innovation, i4J's model for community-based justice work is codified within the AZ Code of Judicial Administration as Section 7-211, uniquely positioning Arizona as the 1st state to authorize community-based justice workers at both Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and Legal Services Organizations (LSOs).
June
i4J publishes a law review article in the Seattle University School of Law Review Online on adult education best practices and what legal education can learn from the community-based justice worker movement.
August
Enrollment of i4J's Fall 2025 cohort of justice workers-in-training marked the 100th advocate to participate in i4J's suite of Community Legal Education Programs.
i4J starts a UX discovery of the Wisconsin Court System's restraining order process to find ways to make it easier and safer.
September
i4J concludes a collaboration with the Jailhouse Lawyer Initiative, Jailhouse Lawyers: Legal Empowerment and Civil Legal Problem-Solving. This is the first project in the country to involve jailhouse lawyers in participatory action research related to legal empowerment and access to justice. Recommendations include creating a civil law modular curriculum with certification for currently incarcerated jailhouse lawyers and creating a connection toolkit that helps build relationships and legal power across prison walls.