Financial Inclusion and Access to Justice are two key foundations of fair and modern societies. Inclusive finance, rightly so, gets a lot of attention—from governments, multilateral institutions, media, investors, academics, and entrepreneurs. Financial Inclusion is a part of Group of 20 agenda, national development goals, and even private sector investments, as evidenced by the venture capital bets on fintech. Access to Justice is an equally pernicious problem and deserves to be top of mind for policymakers, public authorities, and the private sector alike.
The United States, where equal justice under the law is a founding principle, is home to the most lawyers per capita in the world. Alas, despite that impressive statistic, there is a pressing need for better access to justice. For example, the 2022 World Justice Project reports that 92% of the civil legal problems experienced by low-income Americans did not receive any or enough legal assistance. In other legal areas also, there is a paucity of access to legal aid.
