How Does Itamar Mann’s Upsolve App Help People Solve Legal Problems? | TED Fellows

TL;DR

Itamar Mann argues that people who cannot afford a lawyer need the right to solve their own legal problems, supported by accessible tools such as Upsolve. The nonprofit’s app asks understandable financial questions, generates bankruptcy forms and helped Danielle eliminate $55,000 in medical debt for free. Read on to discover how legal complexity and unaffordable fees restrict civil rights, and how courts could become more accessible.

Transcript

[SHAPE YOUR FUTURE] I’m going to start by telling you a story about Danielle. When she was a senior in college, Danielle's dad passed away, which left her mom with no way to support herself. So Danielle had to drop out of college and pick up three jobs as a barista, a bartender and a car washer. Altogether, the three jobs paid Danielle 23,000 dolla... Read More

Key Insights

• 💔 Medical emergencies and financial shocks can lead to debt and potentially ruin the lives of low-income individuals like Danielle.
• 💰 Bankruptcy is a lifeline for those facing overwhelming debt, but the cost of hiring a bankruptcy lawyer is often unaffordable for those who need it most.
• ⚖️ Access to legal representation is a civil rights injustice in the United States, as there is no right to a free lawyer in most civil cases.
• 🆓 Upsolve, a nonprofit organization, has developed an app to help people file for bankruptcy on their own for free, empowering individuals like Danielle to relieve their debt.
• 🔍 Legal complexity, in forms and court processes, acts as a barrier to accessing legal rights and must be addressed through user testing and revision.
• 🚪 A closed culture in the legal system perpetuates the belief that legal problems can only be solved with a lawyer, disregarding the financial limitations of low-income individuals.
• ♀️ Affordability of legal fees disproportionately affects Black and brown communities, perpetuating racial injustice and denying access to civil legal rights.
• 🇺🇸 In order to achieve equal rights in America, it is necessary to eliminate modern-day literacy tests and poll taxes that hinder access to justice and establish the right to self-solve legal problems for those who cannot afford a lawyer.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does the Upsolve app help people solve their legal problems?

Upsolve helps people file for bankruptcy on their own for free. Its app asks understandable questions about their finances and uses their answers to generate the required forms.

Q: Why did Danielle need to file for bankruptcy?

After swerving to avoid a deer and crashing into a barn, Danielle learned that she had damaged her brain stem and C1 vertebrae. The accident left her with $55,000 in medical bills while her three jobs paid a combined $23,000 per year.

Q: Did Danielle try to repay her medical debt before filing for bankruptcy?

Danielle tried for two years to repay the $55,000 debt. Earning $23,000 per year made repayment impossible, leaving her at risk of homelessness, hunger and poverty.

Q: Why couldn’t Danielle hire a bankruptcy lawyer?

A bankruptcy lawyer would have cost Danielle $1,500, which she did not have. The speaker describes the situation as a cruel irony: she needed $1,500 to tell the court that she had no money.

Q: What happened after Danielle used Upsolve?

Danielle filed for bankruptcy on her own for free and received a final court letter relieving all her medical debt shortly after Christmas Day. She later obtained the highest-paying job she had ever held and was on track to finish her degree.

Q: Why does Itamar Mann call access to legal help a civil rights issue?

People have no right to a free lawyer in most civil cases, including matters involving eviction, abusive relationships and bankruptcy. Because pro bono and legal aid lawyers are insufficient, four out of five low-income Americans cannot obtain the legal help they need to exercise their civil legal rights.

Q: What are the main barriers to solving legal problems without a lawyer?

Mann identifies two main barriers: legal complexity and a closed legal culture. Court forms and processes are designed around lawyers rather than ordinary people, while some legal professionals maintain that every problem requires a lawyer regardless of whether someone can afford one.

Q: How could courts make civil legal rights more accessible?

Mann proposes requiring basic user testing in courts and revising the assumption that everyone in areas of poverty law can afford a lawyer. He also argues for removing legal complexity and unaffordable fees that function like modern-day literacy tests and poll taxes.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Danielle had to drop out of college and take on multiple low-paying jobs to support her mom after her dad passed away.

• Danielle was involved in a car accident that resulted in massive medical bills, which she couldn't afford to pay.

• Access to legal help is unequal and unaffordable for many Americans, leading to a systemic injustice and denying people their civil legal rights.