January 29, 2025 by Clarissa Ayala
Lone Star Legal Aid Secures Three TIG Grants to Revolutionize Legal Services
Houston, Texas—Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded three Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to implement innovative technology to advance access to justice and improve legal services.
LSLA will advance its Legal Aid Content Intelligence (LACI) software, which tracks changes in laws and regulations to keep legal content current. Planned improvements include a more user-friendly interface, enhanced legal references, and tools for monitoring website sections. LACI already tracks hundreds of documents and has supported updates for Access to Justice interviews and legal videos. LSLA will also promote LACI to other legal aid programs and assist the Texas Legal Services Center and Idaho Legal Aid Services in adopting the software.
“I’m honored that LSC saw the potential in LACI and gave us TIG funding in 2022 to help build it. Now two other organizations have agreed to use it because they’ve seen how it’s helping us keep our legal content up to date, and we hope others will follow. We want to build a community around the software, so we’ve released it as open source. I’m grateful LSC has given us follow-up funding to continue our work.” Luigi Bai, Managing Attorney
In another innovative step, LSLA will develop three AI-powered chatbots. These include the Juris Chatbot, which analyzes legal texts and provides accurate, cited responses; LSLAsks, an HR/IT/Policy Chatbot for internal staff support; and Navi, a Client Community Support Chatbot to guide users through legal issues with referrals and self-help tools. By leveraging OpenAI technology, LSLA sets new legal aid chatbot development standards.
“I’m incredibly proud of the progress my team has made in developing these chatbots so far, which will not only empower low-income Texans to better navigate legal challenges, but hopefully also lay the foundation for a broader movement in legal aid innovation. We’re incredibly thankful to LSC for this opportunity and excited about the potential impact of our project. As we continue to improve and expand our technology, we’re committed to creating solutions that are scalable, adaptable, and open for others to use.” Ashley Oborn, Director of Data Analytics
Additionally, LSLA will target technology upgrades to strengthen its systems, ensuring they remain robust and capable of supporting its mission to deliver high-quality legal aid to underserved communities.
“Technology plays a pivotal role in bridging the justice gap,” said Paul Furrh, Chief Executive Officer of Lone Star Legal Aid. “These grants will empower LSLA to streamline legal processes, expand access to resources, and set new standards for innovation in the legal aid community.”
Lone Star Legal Aid remains committed to leveraging technology to serve its clients better and expand its impact.
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. LSLA focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety, stability, health, and wellbeing; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those with disabilities, the aging, survivors of crime and disasters, the unemployed and underemployed, the unhoused, those with limited English language skills, and the LGBTQIA+ community. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974. For 50 years, LSC has provided financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. The Corporation currently provides funding to 130 independent nonprofit legal aid programs in every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.
Media contact: media@lonestarlegal.org
