Ask Lawra – New AI platform opens up justice for all Australians

Slater and Gordon launches free digital legal service, as new research shows Australians lack legal literacy

• 42 per cent of Australians don’t know where to turn for legal help.
• Around one in three Australians have delayed action because they are unsure of their rights.
• Lawra is a public AI platform to connect Australians to legal help. During its pilot, the most common questions related to navigating a divorce, personal injury, and workplace disputes.

Slater and Gordon Lawyers is continuing to provide more Australians with access to justice they deserve, today launching Lawra – a free AI platform designed to provide clear information and connections to legal help.

It comes as a new national survey¹ of more than 1,000 Australians on legal literacy, conducted by Ideally for Slater and Gordon Lawyers, reveals:

• Many Australians don’t know where to start when they need legal support – 42 per cent don’t know where to turn.
• 42 per cent also don’t fully understand common legal situations, such as workplace injuries, insurance claims, or receiving a late notice about the end of a rental lease.
• 68 per cent would use a free AI tool that explains in plain language whether they might have a legal problem and what to do next.
• 60 per cent report that concerns about cost would deter them from speaking to a lawyer. For households with an income below $75,000, that figure rises to 67 per cent.

“Everyone deserves access to justice, but that’s not the reality for many people,” Slater and Gordon Lawyers CEO and Executive Director Dina Tutungi said.

“We know more than 40 per cent of Australians don’t know where to turn for legal help, and so Lawra was designed as a guide and gateway to rebalance legal power.”

Developed and supervised by Slater and Gordon lawyers, Lawra provides a unique and practical avenue for people who need legal help within an Australian context.

The platform is free and available to all members of the public. Its user-friendly design allows people to understand their situation, the next steps they should take, and whether they should speak to a lawyer.

It may connect them with a Slater and Gordon lawyer, or it may guide them in the right direction to find meaningful help, including to other legal pathways.

“Lawra is backed by 90 years of knowledge from Slater and Gordon lawyers. It will never replace a human, but it’s a first port of call for people who might be nervous about picking up the phone. We have already seen clear evidence that it works and that it’s helping,” Ms Tutungi said.

“Innovation and advocacy for those with less power have always been part of Slater and Gordon’s DNA. Developing Lawra is a natural next step for us – using AI responsibly to give more people access to justice, while keeping legal judgment with real-world lawyers.”

During Lawra’s early testing phase:

• More than 40,000 people visited lawra.com.au
• 55 per cent of users were women
• The most common topics related to:
  • Family law
  • Personal injury
  • Unfair dismissal
  • Wills and estates

Slater and Gordon Head of Legal Transformation Susan Accary said Lawra has already resulted in people with novel personal injury claims being referred to a lawyer.

“Lawra hit the ground running; the platform is already opening up justice with information that is free and secure. It’s already connected people who had been failed in some way but weren’t even sure if they actually had a legal problem.”

The Slater and Gordon innovators behind Lawra say what they saw in the early development phase brought home its value.

“Everyone who has engaged with Lawra is someone who might otherwise have walked away from the legal system. This told us that what we are building is desperately needed. Lawra isn’t a replacement for a lawyer, but it’s an important first step towards one, backed by Australian legal expertise,” Ms Accary said.

Lawra’s data is stored onshore. Unlike other AI tools, Lawra does not train on user data. All queries shared with Lawra are treated as confidential and handled in line with Australian privacy laws.

To explore Lawra, visit lawra.com.au