74% of legal aid organizations are already using AI in their work

Despite obstacles, AI is a “generational opportunity” in narrowing the justice gap in the US

A new survey by Everlaw reveals that artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a key tool for legal aid organizations to bridge the justice gap for millions of Americans. The findings highlight a strong belief that AI can significantly improve efficiency and expand services for millions of Americans who are underserved, though caveats remain.

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Joanne Sprague heads up the Everlaw for Good (E4G) program, which expands access to justice by offering free and deeply discounted access to Everlaw's cloud-native litigation platform for nonprofits, investigative journalists and pro bono teams. The program has supported 200 organizations working on more than 500 cases across six areas including low income populations, civil rights and civil liberties, providing approximately $5 million in platform services. In 2024, Everlaw decided to provide its GenAI offerings to its E4G participants at no cost. This donation—equivalent to thousands of dollars in AI credits per organization per year—reflects Everlaw's belief that AI can play a meaningful role in narrowing the justice gap.

Equal access to justice is a founding principle of the U.S. Constitution, yet more than 9 in 10 low-income Americans facing critical civil issues like eviction, debt, or custody receive no or inadequate legal assistance. The United States currently ranks 107th out of 142 countries in affordability and accessibility of civil justice. Legal aid organizations, which serve people facing these and other critical legal issues, are often burdened by large caseloads, staffing shortfalls, and time-consuming tasks.

The Everlaw survey, conducted in partnership with the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, Paladin and LawSites, sought to understand how legal aid professionals are using AI and their perceptions of its potential to address these stark disparities.

The key findings from the report, “The AI Advantage: How Technology Can Help Bridge the Justice Gap”, include:

• 74% of legal aid organizations are already using AI in their work, double the adoption rate of the wider legal profession as estimated recently when asked about the use of generative AI*.
• 40% of legal aid professionals reported using AI at least weekly and 26% use it daily, demonstrating how these new tools are being woven into the fabric of daily legal work. The respondents indicate AI is helping with streamlining essential tasks like document summarization, legal research, and analysis.
• 90% of respondents said using AI to its full potential would enable them to serve more clients. And some (17%) estimated that AI may help them serve 50% more clients. This directly addresses a critical issue: Legal Services Corporation estimates that nearly 1 of every 2 people who qualify for legal aid are turned away for lack of resources.
• 88% of respondents believe AI can help address the access to justice gap to some extent. This widespread optimism underscores the potential for AI to create a more equitable legal system.
• Data privacy, hallucinations, and ethical and professional responsibilities serve as the top three concerns and obstacles reported by the respondents.

Commentary on the Survey Results:

“AI presents a generational opportunity to fundamentally expand who has access to justice, but it’s not a foregone conclusion,” said Joanne Sprague, Head of Everlaw for Good. “By empowering these critical legal organizations with AI tools, we can make a real difference in the lives of millions.”

“Generative AI offers a rare chance to address this crisis: it can democratize legal information, simplify processes, and offer meaningful legal tools at scale,” said Kristen Sonday, Co-Founder and CEO of Paladin.

“This survey reveals that AI adoption is not just happening in well-funded BigLaw firms – it is being driven by organizations serving our most vulnerable populations,” said Robert Ambrogi, Founder of LawSites. “When 88% of legal aid professionals see AI as a tool to address the justice gap, that underscores its potential to fundamentally democratize access to legal services.”

Spotlight on Legal Aid of North Carolina

Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC), the state's largest non-profit law firm, is leveraging AI to address the overwhelming demand for legal services for low-income residents facing issues like domestic violence and unlawful eviction. With 300,000 people seeking help each year, the intake process became a bottleneck to qualify, prioritize and direct people to the right services.

LANC is testing a new AI-powered voice agent for initial intake, which handles multiple languages and operates 24/7, making it a convenient tool for clients in rural areas or those with transportation issues. By automating this foundational step, LANC’s staff, including its 200 statewide attorneys, can dedicate their time to high-value work, such as court appearances and client advocacy.

"We will never be able to ‘lawyer ourselves’ out of this access-to-justice crisis," said LANC’s Chief Innovation Officer Scheree Gilchrist. "AI is a force multiplier to scale our services.”

About the Survey:

This survey, conducted in May 2025, asked 112 legal aid society professionals about their use of AI, whether they believed AI has the potential to support and scale access to justice to support critical legal work for underserved communities, and how AI may help their legal aid organizations better serve people facing housing, family, employment and other critical legal issues.

Footnote: * comparison with the Everlaw Innovation Survey findings, July 2025.

About the Survey Partners

Everlaw provides complimentary access to its world-class litigation and investigative software to qualified nonprofits, educators, pro bono practices and investigative journalists through its Everlaw for Good program founded in 2017. Follow us on LinkedIn.

National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA): NLADA is the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit association devoted to excellence in the delivery of legal services to those who cannot afford counsel.

Paladin: Paladin is a platform that helps legal teams, law schools, and corporations manage and expand their pro bono work to improve access to justice.

LawSites: LawSites is an influential blog and media platform founded by Robert Ambrogi dedicated to covering legal technology, innovation and the business of law.

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"We will never be able to ‘lawyer ourselves’ out of this access-to-justice crisis," said LANC’s Chief Innovation Officer Scheree Gilchrist. "AI is a force multiplier to scale our services.”