Justice Futures

Around the world, 5 billion people live outside the protection of the law. In the United States, this includes the tens of millions of people annually who confront civil justice issues that threaten their ability to have a safe place to live, earn a dignified living, and to care for the people who depend on them. Justice Futures seeks to imagine and make real more just and accessible legal pathways for everyday Americans: grandparents raising their grandchildren, trying to figure out how to get them on health insurance and enrolled in school, people living in unsafe and unhealthy rental housing, trying to figure out how to get the rats out and the hot water in, and entire communities whose land, water, and clean air are threatened.

Most people will get no help with these justice issues from anyone with legal expertise. In most cases, Americans handle potentially life-altering civil justice issues on their own. Not with the help of a lawyer, but with the support of family or friends, or by reaching out to religious or community groups. This happens not just because lawyers are expensive, but because people don’t have access to the information and support they need to recognize their problems as legal and explore just solutions.

Through original research, public engagement, conferences, and workshops, the Justice Futures project endeavors to develop evidence-based solutions that empower people to use their own laws and realize more just and sustainable futures for themselves, their families, and their communities.