Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) receives approximately 300,000 calls a year, and until recently, only a third of those callers reached a live person.
That changed in January when LANC launched JusticeHub. “JusticeHub is a 24/7 online legal aid portal where one can apply for our services, instantly see if they qualify, and follow the status of their submitted application with ease,” said LANC Executive Director Ashley Campbell.
LANC serves clients facing issues including domestic violence, housing, public benefits, disaster relief, consumer protection, and other civil matters. It does not handle criminal cases.
Past Limitations
In the past, LANC’s staff handled eligibility screening and case qualifications through a primarily manual, staff-intensive process.
“Potential clients typically had to call during limited business hours, wait on hold for up to 30 minutes, leave voicemails, or travel in person to an office,” said Scheree Gilchrist, LANC’s chief innovation officer.
“The process often required multiple follow ups, created bottlenecks during high-volume periods, and could unintentionally discourage people who faced language barriers, transportation challenges, work constraints, or limited phone access.”
Enter JusticeHub
“By making our application process faster and simpler with JusticeHub, we can help even more neighbors and revolutionize the future of how civil legal services are delivered,” said Gilchrist.
JusticeHub applications take roughly 15 to 20 minutes from start to finish.
Applications submitted are reviewed the same day. When volume is especially high, any applications not reached that day are triaged within one business day. One intake triage person is currently able to review approximately 75 to 100 applications per day, an increase from 20 to 35 phone intakes per intake specialist. The system also has backup capacity in place to ensure a timely and consistent response.
“By reducing the administrative burden and intake inefficiencies, JusticeHub increases LANC’s operational efficiency and allows staff to devote more time to legal advice, representation, and problem-solving rather than repetitive screening tasks,” said Gilcrest. “JusticeHub also improves accuracy by routing cases correctly from the outset, reducing rework and delays.”
Not everyone who meets the eligibility criteria will receive full representation. Legal Aid of North Carolina offers a range of services, including referrals, live self-help sessions facilitated by attorneys, self-guided tools and videos, advice and brief services, and representation.
Critical Moment
“The launch of JusticeHub comes at a critical moment as this January marked the first month without IOLTA funding,” said Campbell. “IOLTA funds do not come from taxpayers but from the legal profession itself. This $6.3 million funding freeze affects every corner of our state, from rural counties where Legal Aid is the only free civil legal resource, to busy courthouses where thousands of people turn to us for help navigating complex systems.”
Serving People Faster
Rather than a one-time build, JusticeHub is intended to continue evolving as needs change and new opportunities emerge. The program currently only handles English but will add additional languages with Version 2.0.
“We’re building a system that we can learn from and improve with every interaction,” said Gilcrest.
“This is about more than just serving more people faster, though we’re doing that. It’s about finally having the infrastructure to understand and address the true scope of legal needs in North Carolina. And that’s transformative.”
