Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) is conducting a targeted online survey on artificial intelligence (AI) and legal services clients. The survey is supported by Borealis DIFxTech. We are seeking responses from attorneys and other staff providing legal services for clients at non-profit civil legal aid organizations, law students and their supervisors providing limited legal services in law school legal aid clinics, and private disability-rights focused law firms in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia.
The legal services staff we would like to hear from are attorneys, legal fellows, law school graduates not yet admitted to the bar, legal interns, law students participating currently or in the past in law school clinics, paralegals, and legal intake staff. Over the next couple of weeks, DREDF is sending out emails to leadership in legal services organization and law school clinics in the above states, requesting distribution of the survey to their legal services staff.
The survey has two aims: We want to learn whether attorneys and others involved in the delivery of legal services to disabled persons have encountered cases where the use of an artificial intelligence tool may be affecting people with disabilities in various areas including benefit, service, or eligibility determinations, healthcare, employment, housing, or education. We also want to learn attorneys’ self-assessments of their understanding of AI’s potential role in disabled client issues, whether they have received AI training, or are interested in AI training intended to assist them in representing clients with disabilities.
Responses will help DREDF write an analysis on how disabled people are being affected by the availability and use of AI across many areas of their life. Our report will also present what we have learned about legal services providers’ interest in, and need for, training on AI and people with disabilities. If you have any questions about the survey, fit our criteria for participation and wish to request the survey link, or require any accommodations to complete the survey, please contact bcho@dredf.org or call 510-644-2555, ext. 5234.
