In positive A2J news from South Africa, Epoq Legal has launched JusDraft; a real-time, online legal document drafting tool designed for South African non-profit organisations who need to create court forms, contracts, wills and more without the need for an attorney.
According to statistics provided by Epoq Legal, in South Africa there are 120,227 registered NPOs. Of those, 94.7% of these serve the communities in which they are based, and 40,8% of these are classified as social services. These organisations operate in a demanding world where delays and costs involved in traditional document drafting can have a serious impact on the well-being of end users. JusDraft was created to help deliver vital services, completely free of charge.
The JusDraft platform is designed to be quick and easy for non-legal professionals to use and is packaged with an accompanying law guide written in plain English, a selection of legal infographics, a range of self-help video tutorials, and a 24/7/365 telephone legal advice helpline. All NPO’s have to do is sign up at www.jusdraft.co.za.
Emile Gerber, chief operating officer of Epoq Legal (South Africa) says, “South Africa is home to around 57.7 million people, many of whom can’t afford or don’t have access to legal services, and vulnerable people in particular are reliant on non-profit organisations who in turn partner with law firms and other institutions in order to make advice or legal services available. In the world we live in today, with the population expanding and the poverty gap widening, innovation in the legal tech space is key to reaching a broader percentage of the population.”
In collaboration with various organisations, JusDraft offers document drafting and ancillary services in the areas of family law, criminal law, debt and employment/ labour matters. The service will expand to include aspects of property, motoring and more; and will become available to other organisations looking for an in-house legal document drafting platform.
JusDraft grew out of The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) Innovating Justice Challenge in early 2018.