HelpSelf is a
AI-assisted legal app that helps you deal with simple issues. Need protection
against debt collectors? Need an expungement? Want to deal with domestic
violence? This robot can help.
The project is an
“automated legal technology company” that automates simple legal procedures.
They currently work in the above areas but are moving into housing, family law,
certain immigration tasks, and employment law, said Dorna Moini, co-founder of
the project.
“We self-funded from
the start and are completely bootstrapped. We are making a profit through
licensing fees for our document automation platform,” she said. “We use this
document automation platform to create all of our new products and license it
to lawyers to fund the tools we create. We just brought on another engineer and
may be looking for funding in the next few months so we can expand more
quickly.”
Moini has a background
in trial litigation and worked for BigLaw and Sheppard Mullin. She also worked
on civil rights issues in Africa including
drafting legislation. Co-founder Michael Joseph has a background in engineering
and information security.
The company sells its
services to consumers and other lawyers.
“We built this all on
our Document Automation Bot, which is available to any lawyer who wants to
create similar ‘Turbo-Tax-like’ workflows, either just to streamline their
internal work or to contribute to the library of legal tools available to the
public,” she said.
“Honestly, there
aren’t enough people in this field, especially those creating doc automation
tools for access to justice. Apps like DoNotPay have gotten a lot of press in
this area for their parking ticket app. Our services are more extensive and we
provide lawyers with the tools to create their own version of DoNotPay for any
area of law.”
The pair see their
niche is vitally important. Because they focus on issues that other services
ignore, they can solve real problems and get real justice for people. Competitors,
said Moini, “serve small businesses and higher net worth individuals with needs
like wills, trusts, and employment agreements.”
“I started HelpSelf
because I saw the disparity between the technology available to my legal
clients at my law firm and that available to my pro bono clients,” she said.
“At the same time, the Trump administration had proposed cutting funding to
legal aid to zero from about $400 million. I worked with domestic violence
victims and asylum applicants, and set out to build tools that would streamline
the process, allowing one lawyer to serve more clients pro bono and allowing
individuals to take control of their own legal needs through tech.”
Photo by Ian Roseboro
on Unsplash
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