Impact
Closing the justice gap, one rehearsal at a time.
Millions of people face court with no lawyer, not because they don’t care, but because help is out of reach. Here is the gap we’re built for, and how we try to meet it.
8 got enough help · 92 got none, or not enough
74%
of low-income households hit a civil legal problem in a year (83% with children)
46%
who didn’t seek help named cost as a reason
55%
said the problem substantially changed their life: money, health, safety, relationships
Source: Legal Services Corporation, The Justice Gap (2022).
Who’s hit hardest
The gap is widest for rural families, parents and survivors.
Share of serious problems with no or not enough legal help. Recent domestic violence survivors face the most problems: 87% had five or more.
Legal aid can’t keep up.
Legal aid turns away about half of the people who ask, leaving roughly 1.4 million problems a year without enough help. Each one is a person who needs a next step.
Source: Legal Services Corporation, The Justice Gap (2022).
Where Unshaken fits
The missing rung between a court form and a lawyer.
No help
Where most problems end up today
Information
Court websites, forms, self-help centers
Unshaken
A guided path, deadlines, and practice out loud
Limited help
Brief advice, clinics, help with one task
Full lawyer
Representation; scarce for low-income people
More help, more cost, from left to right. Unshaken lifts people off the bottom rungs, and refers them up when they need a lawyer.
Finding by finding
| What the research found | How Unshaken responds |
|---|---|
| 92% of serious problems get no or not enough help | Guided self-help and rehearsal for the whole process, not just a form |
| People seek help for only 25% of problems | Free pages that meet you the moment you search: “just served,” “what will they ask” |
| 46% who didn’t seek help named cost | Proposed partner-supported access for households at or below 125% of poverty; not an active program |
| 53% don’t know if they could find and afford a lawyer | A plain-language map of your case, plus referral to legal aid and lawyers |
| Only 39% believe they can use the system to protect their rights | Spoken practice with AI voices to build confidence (to be measured) |
| Legal aid turns away 49% of requests | Future legal-aid partnerships could support practice access; licenses are not available here yet |
| The rural gap is 94% | Phone-first, available anywhere, any hour |
| 39% of households have five or more problems | One account across editions for problems that come together |
Findings: LSC, The Justice Gap (2022). Responses are Unshaken’s design; impact claims are hypotheses we will test, not measured results.
What we cover, honestly
Planned practice for family, safety and consumer problems.
| Problem area | Edition | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Family & safety | Custody; Court Order | Prototype |
| Consumer | Small Claims | Prototype |
| Criminal-adjacent | Hearing; Trial (with lawyer partners) | Prototype |
| Housing | Eviction Edition | Planned |
| Consumer debt | Debt Defense | Planned |
| Income maintenance | Benefits Hearing | Idea |
| Health care, education | Not covered yet | — |
Our rule for new editions: a problem that ends in a hearing or interview someone can practice for.
A proposed path to affordable practice.
The proposed model would provide partner-verified access for households at or below 125% of poverty. Funding, partner arrangements, and access terms are not finalized. Joining the waitlist does not confirm eligibility or unlock a simulator.
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