Legal System Reform

The criminal legal system has a long history of using jail as the sole response to criminal and criminalized behavior. More effective methods are available to improve safety, equity, and keep communities intact.

 

We help jurisdictions, large and small, implement alternatives that create pathways to behavioral health treatment, job skills, employment resources, and fines and fees solutions. 

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With a specialization in treatment court programs, harm reduction strategies, community courts, and diversion efforts, we work with each jurisdiction on their individual wants and needs. 

Civil legal systems have profound impacts on families and communities. These range from housing and debt collection to custody and protection orders.  A majority of people are pro se as they maneuver through these complex systems and need assistance to fully access services. 

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We help courts and legal providers improve access to justice for pro se litigants through implementing practices such as court navigation, pro se resource centers, and evidence-based methods to improve understanding and trust in the court system. 

Communities often experience the legal system as disconnected from their needs, leaving many to grapple with the lasting harms it can cause. Building trust in the judiciary, legal processes, and legal professionals is essential to strengthening confidence in the rule of law and ensuring courts serve the public with fairness, transparency, and accountability.

 

We partner with jurisdictions around the world to improve trust and transparency across legal systems. From Kosovo to New York, our work implementing procedural justice principles has helped transform how people experience the legal system—improving interactions, strengthening community confidence, and creating more accessible, responsive courts.

Across all systems, intimate partner violence is a major issue with severe—and sometimes lethal—consequences when it is not addressed effectively.

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We help strengthen systems dedicated to addressing this pervasive issue, including domestic violence dockets, high-risk domestic violence teams, and risk assessment implementation.

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We also support programs that need training and specialized expertise to better identify and address intimate partner violence within their existing services. Many alternatives-to-incarceration programs lack procedures for responding to intimate partner violence, causing them to miss valuable opportunities to intervene meaningfully during a participant's time in the program.