NuLawLab Launches First Virtual Reality Courthouse Tour

The interactive, web-based simulation shows visitors how to navigate and interact within a courthouse, courtroom and with court personnel. The project is funded  by the Legal Services Corporation’s Technology Initiative Grant Program and is a collaboration among NuLawLab, Colorado Legal Services and Hands-On Education, Law & Media (HELM) Studio.

    NuLawLab Launches First Virtual Reality Courthouse Tour

    01.21.22 — Northeastern Law’s NuLawLab has launched the Colorado Virtual Courthouse Tour, the first digital legal empowerment tool of its kind that will assist people navigating civil cases without the help of a lawyer. The interactive, web-based simulation shows visitors how to navigate and interact within a courthouse, courtroom and with court personnel. The project is funded  by the Legal Services Corporation’s Technology Initiative Grant Program and is a collaboration among NuLawLab, Colorado Legal Services and Hands-On Education, Law & Media (HELM) Studio. Northeastern Law students Antonio Coronado ’22, Connor Scholes ’23 and recent grads Henry Sturm ’20 and Ana Teixeria ’21 provided crucial assistance throughout the assessment, design, build and testing of the tool. Northeastern University Media Advocacy student Lauren Vitacco ’21 is heading the marketing and outreach plan. NuLawLab will evaluate the impact of the tool over the coming year and beyond and is exploring opportunities to further deploy this technology to assist self-represented litigants across the country.

    “Virtual reality holds promise in educating people on how to navigate court systems without the help of a lawyer,”  said Dan Jackson ’97, executive director of NuLawLab.  “We are honored to work with our collaborators on this new tool and we welcome creative ideas for utilizing virtual reality in the pursuit of access to justice.”

    “The Virtual Courthouse tool is an example of the broader work to reimagine legal systems that faces our profession,” said Antonio Coronado ’22. “The pandemic and heightened forms of inequality that communities continue to navigate underscore the urgency of bridging the access to justice gap in new and intentional ways—now more than ever. If communities cannot imagine themselves in the process of ‘justice,’ the law has failed them before a case begins.”

    “It has been very rewarding to work on this project and I am very excited to see new and exciting ways in which technology can be implemented to create new pathways for legal access,” added Connor Scholes ’23. “The NuLawLab works hard to redesign critical aspects of the law, and it was an honor and a pleasure to see this project completed so effectively. I hope the Colorado Virtual Courthouse Tour is a useful tool for the people of Colorado.”

    About Northeastern University School of Law

    The nation’s leader in experiential legal education since 1968, Northeastern University School of Law offers the longest-running, most extensive experience-based legal education program in the country. Northeastern guarantees its students unparalleled practical legal work experiences through its signature Cooperative Legal Education Program. More than 1,000 employers worldwide in a wide range of legal, government, nonprofit and business organizations participate in the program. With a focus on social justice and innovation, Northeastern University School of Law blends theory and practice, providing students with a unique set of skills and experiences to successfully practice law.

    For more information, contact d.feldman@northeastern.edu.