Legal Aid Programs and AI: Intake and Beyond

Earlier this year, Law.com published a two-part series about initiatives to use AI in the provision of legal aid. As part of its legal technology analysis, Law.com looked at the 2026 Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) announced last December by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). 2026 TIG grantee, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS), along with project collaborators Legal Services State Support and Justice North, aims to utilize AI technology to improve client referral and intake processes.

The two-part series addresses the use of AI both as a measure to address the justice gap generally and to leverage available resources for maximum efficiency at the program level. With the amount of demand for legal services continuing to rise, TIG projects offer one way to address that demand by looking at processes of referral, intake, and triage, among others.

SMRLS and partners are hopeful that their initiative for the state’s coordinated intake system will allow intake staff to focus more on communicating directly with potential clients. “It will make it easier and faster for them, and make it more accurate,” said Lara Otsuka, director of business administration at SMRLS. “Making it more efficient lets them spend more of their focus and time on the client, rather than on trying to navigate software databases, because that's really where they really shine—the way that they handle clients.” Otsuka also said the longer time parameters of TIG project funding allows grantees more time for outreach to stakeholders in order to find the best approach through trial and error.

Read part one, “How Legal Aid Groups Hope to Use AI in 2026” and part two, "The Future of AI in Legal Aid: Legal Research, Self-Service and Collaborations.”