McDonald on mLegal: Mobile Legal Technology for Developing Nations

Sean Martin McDonald, Esq., of Frontline SMS and Frontline SMS: Legal, has published The Case for mLegal, Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, 6(1), 41-62 (2011), doi: 10.1162/INOV_a_00057. (Click here for an open access version of the article.) Here is a summary:

While there are a number of obstacles [facing citizens of developing countries] to accessing legal systems, many of them are the result of barriers to communication. SMS is the world’s cheapest, most ubiquitous data communications platform, in large part, because it overcomes many of these barriers. Through simple pieces of open-source software, legal service providers could use SMS interfaces to keep digital records, conduct basic remote intake, and improve client management, reducing costs at a time when every cent counts. This article is an exploration of the potential role of mobile technologies in the extension and improvement of the rule of law.

Click here for Sean’s post about the article, on the Frontline SMS: Legal blog.

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