BIMA Awards Recognise Advicenow Providing Access to Justice
We are always so proud of the work we do with our super client, Advicenow, and even more so as we’ve just been shortlisted for the 2018 BIMA Awards in the Product and Service Design: Conscience category.
About Advicenow
Advicenow is an independent, not-for-profit website, run by the charity Law for Life: the Foundation for Public Legal Education. It provides accurate information on rights and the law. They believe that everybody should have access to clear and effective guidance to help them deal with law-related issues.
About the project
Striving to continue to offer help to as many people as possible has led to the piloting of an ecommerce venture offering a select number of paid-for expert guides with a tiered pricing structure based on ability to pay. Those who can afford to pay will be able to immediately download the guides at a fraction of the cost of a consultation with a solicitor and those who cannot afford to pay can request free access.
This will mean that those who can’t pay won’t have to but that the service can continue to improve by bolstering its funding
The guides are also available free of charge to advice services, community groups, support services and solicitors undertaking pro bono work.
Before 2012 almost none of the site’s users were having to take issues to court without a solicitor (represent themselves), in 2015 that figure was 32.2%, rising enormously in 2017 to 67%. The guides that Advicenow are providing are helping these people to represent themselves.
To date, there have been over 1000 guides sent out and just under half of these have been sent free of charge.
This shortlisting further bolsters the acknowledgement this work deserves, adding to the well-earned win at the 2017 Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards in the Access the Justice Through IT category.
About BIMA and the Awards
Founded in 1985, BIMA is Britain’s digital community and one of the most widely respected names in the digital industry. Everything BIMA does is future focused and embodies their values of innovation, enabling community, celebrating individuals and excellence across the digital industry. The BIMA Awards honour the British digital work pushing the limits of what is possible, making a difference and business, culture and society.
The award for Product and Service Design with Conscience recognises the potential of digital to improve the lives of people across society, with the judges looking for projects that are delivering significant social impact, harnessing the effective application of digital expertise for social good.