Mission

FrontlineSMS:Legal uses mobile technologies to extend, improve, and coordinate dispute resolution systems, increasing access to justice in the areas that need it most.

In many areas of the world, people must overcome incredible obstacles to engage even the most basic legal services. There are a number of community leaders, civil society organizations, and legal aid programs that work to reach underserved communities, despite limited resources. Historically, these groups have struggled to manage communication with both clients and formal justice systems, due to high costs and large distances.

At the same time, mobile phone penetration currently exceeds 5 billion handsets globally, offering an unprecedented opportunity to bridge the distance, time, and cost of remote communication. FrontlineSMS:Legal focuses on leveraging the power of mobile communication technologies to improve the delivery of formal and informal dispute resolution services. This new field, which we call mLegal, has the power to bring formalized justice and resolution to people and places historically beyond reach.

What is mLegal?

A single mobile phone can be a very powerful way to connect people in hard to reach, often lawless, areas to the resources they need to resolve problems peacefully. mLegal is the application of mobile technologies to extend, improve, and modernize legal service delivery.

In many parts of the world, citizens struggle to access critical legal information and resources.  There are a number of barriers that prevent citizens from engaging legal and dispute resolution systems, including physical distance, cost, and awareness, among others.  In the absence of formal legal systems, disputants either rely on local structures or settle disagreements independently.  A number of legal aid projects do incredible extension work, such as public defenders, law school clinics, and non-governmental organizations, though they typically lack the resources to provide comprehensive coverage.

Mobile technologies are lowering critical barriers to communication everywhere. One of the few uniting characteristics of every mobile handset is that they include the capability to send text, or Short Message Service (SMS), messages.  Text messaging has become the cheapest, most ubiquitous communications platform in human history, offering opportunities to extend a number of services, including healthcare, banking, and education.

As both technology, governance, and international development communities begin to turn their attention toward how mobile phones can be used to improve integral services, a number of terms have emerged to conceptually describe mobile legal systems, such as “telejustice,” and “mJustice.”  While both of these terms are appropriate, “justice” is a subjective idea, encompassing complex and context-specific concepts related to ethics, fairness, and morality.

Alternatively, extending and modernizing legal services focuses on the deployment of efficient systems. Given its objective and context-neutral focus, FrontlineSMS:Legal uses “mLegal” to inclusively describe the application of mobile technologies that support a range of legal and dispute resolution services.  mLegal represents a new opportunity to extend and transform the administration of key legal services, improving accessibility and efficiency for underserved populations.

Executive Director

Sean Martin McDonald is an international development professional with expertise in law, alternative dispute and conflict resolution, and technology. Prior to FrontlineSMS:Legal, he worked at MetroStar Systems, where he designed and launched technology products for government and private clients, managed proposal processes, and engaged the non-profit technology community.

Prior to MetroStar, Sean worked at International Relief & Development, Inc., where he focused on business development and program management in the Office of Democracy, Governance, and Community Development. He’s also worked for the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of Conflict Mitigation and Management, the Public International Law and Policy Group, the Center for Peacebuilding International, and the Office of Senator Barbara Mikulski.

Sean currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, International Peace Park Expeditions, and the Advisory Board of Digital Democracy. He holds a J.D. and an M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Magazine Journalism, government, and Spanish at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Governance Project Director

Chris R Albon leads FrontlineSMS’ governance project where he works with users to strengthen government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness. Prior to joining FrontlineSMS, Chris earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Davis. His research focused on the drivers of government and rebel behavior towards health system destruction and reconstruction during civil conflicts. His masters thesis addressed the health implications of United Nations Peacekeeping operations.

Chris is also an active blogger and writer, contributing to the United States Naval Institute Blog, United Nations Dispatch, ForeignPolicy.com, TheAtlantic.com, and other publications. In 2008, Chris founded Conflict Health, a blog on the defense of health and health workers against persecution, violence, and armed conflict. Over the years Conflict Health has been cited by many mainstream publications and is well read by development and global health practitioners.