How will we know if innovative changes to the civil justice system are actually happening and more, if they are making a difference?

That’s essentially the question that the American Bar Association (ABA) Centre for Innovation set out to investigate and answer in 2019. Guided by their working group, lots of stakeholder engagement, and lots of iterations too, in 2022, they concluded phase one of the project and launched its output – “a tool that enables all stakeholders to build effective metrics to evaluate their desired outcomes”- Justice System Metrics.

The best way to understand the metrics and data in support is to visit the website, experiment and explore. That’s also easy to do because the site is super user-friendly. It’s been built so those new to the world of data and metrics can find what you want as easily as those who are more adept. The metrics “are searchable based on the type of data it supplies, the location you can find that data, or by keywords connecting similar or relative metrics.  The use cases are searchable by publication date, keywords, and data source.” There is also a bunch of resources on the website in the “Metrics in Action” section.  And, a step-by-step guide on how to create your journey in the “Use the Metrics” section.

This is a multi-phase project. The ABA is actively encouraging people to provide feedback, resources,  and contribute their thoughts on the developed metrics and their own data and metrics too: “ the website is meant to serve as a clearing house for the metrics and research being done that help” the ABA “evaluate the effectiveness our justice system.”  

Discussing this project with working group members Joey Gartner, Director of, and Counsel at, the ABA Centre for Innovation and Amanda Brown, Executive Director of the Lagniappe Law Lab, was inspiring – we can’t wait to see where this project goes next!

If you would prefer to watch rather than listen to this podcast, you’ll find the video here. 

About the Future 50 Series

In the Future 50 Series we’re chatting with legalpreneurs who, through their ideas and actions, are challenging and transforming legal BAU all around the world. 

If you would like to recommend people for this Series, please contact us at: CLI@collaw.edu.au.