Games and Gamification
As a fellow at Stanford Law, I am researching to understand how gamification and games could be used in the legal profession to increase engagement with the public. I am focusing both on the use of gamification by law firms internally, but also as it might be applied to lawyers’ interactions with clients through the online delivery of legal services. The key component of my research is on how the profession can improve online engagement with the public to increase access to justice and the use of alternative or complimentary forms of online legal service delivery.
Other industries, from medical to financial, are developing games and integrating game mechanics into their business processes to educate and empower those in their profession and the public. I’ve been studying game design, theories of fun, persuasive technology, design methodology, the psychology behind games, and looking at existing games for social good for inspiration. I believe we can use the power of games to educate and empower the public to learn the law, their legal rights, and how to prevent legal problems before they happen.
Game Development Projects
I founded Game on Law, L3C to develop and publish games related to legal services. I am currently developing two games, one related to estate planning (Estate Quest) and the other to landlord/tenant and eviction law. The goals of this project are:
- To empower players to prevent legal problems before they happen.
- To award players with points that may be used as discounts to access unbundled legal assistance online (whether that is through self-help resources or discounts for services at branded networks).
- To increase access to justice through engagement and the power of gaming to teach basic legal rights.
- To build a fun game that may be played online in a social capacity with friends and family.
Legal Education
I continue to teach online courses to law students, including courses in Law Practice Management and Technology, Social Media and the Law, and Access to Justice Through Technology for the Center for Law Practice Technology at Florida Coastal School of Law. I also work as the Co-Director of this Center to develop the curriculum and work with adjunct faculty on the distance learning platform.
Work with the ABA
I volunteer on the ABA’s Blueprints Project. Among other things, this group has compiled a list of access to justice resources and initiatives around the world. We are currently looking at how to build an online access hub that might serve as a central point for sharing this information among other initiatives.
I also serve on the ABA Future of Legal Services Commission in the Blue Sky working group. We are looking at areas of the profession where we might be able to inject innovation and what that might look like.