Justice Data and Design Lab
The Justice Data and Design Lab (JDD Lab) was established as an innovative research program aimed at using interdisciplinary collaboration, data science, and artificial intelligence to identify and address unmet legal needs in British Columbia. Envisioned as a practical response to Access to Justice BC’s call for systemic culture change, the Lab served as a living embodiment of the “A2JBC Approach” by prioritizing user-centered, evidence-based, and experimental strategies to transform the justice system.
Over its five-term lifecycle, the JDD Lab brought together interdisciplinary teams of students from law, data science, and digital media to collect and analyze new forms of legal data, notably from publicly accessible platforms such as Reddit. Using machine learning and natural language processing, the Lab developed a functioning “Research Engine” capable of identifying emerging legal problem trends in real time. This novel approach not only confirmed that data and user experience analysis can reveal areas of unmet need, but also demonstrated how academic rapid response teams can develop meaningful prototypes to address identified gaps in public legal information and legal service support.
Among the Lab’s key achievements were the creation of tools to guide individuals toward reliable legal resources online, exploration of how AI can streamline intake processes for legal support organizations, and the development of a data-driven bot aimed at redirecting online users to jurisdiction-specific supports. The Lab also played a critical knowledge-sharing role through its website, blogs, public updates, academic presentations, and publications, including a Master’s thesis and multiple practitioner-focused reports.
The JDD Lab achieved all the outcomes set out in its original proposal and exceeded expectations in terms of community engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and prototype development.
As its funding cycle concluded in 2025, the Lab wound down its operations having fulfilled its mission. Its methodologies, tools, and lessons learned continue to inform the work of ACE and serve as a model for evidence-informed reform efforts nationwide
Website: https://justicedataanddesign.com/
Funders: Law Foundation of BC, mitacs