Kenyan tech innovators have launched a digital platform that offers free legal services.
Have you ever wondered how you could sue someone or if your employer or relative is legally shortchanging you? Then you Google but all you get is American or European law? The process of finding good Kenyan legal advice online is frustrating and often leaves you wondering if it’s really worth it.
This is why it’s exciting that Kenyans will soon profit from the use of technology in the legal field, according to the Kenyanlaw.com platform, which is aimed to make access to justice more efficient and convenient.
So what does it do and how does it work?
Kenyanlaw.com is a legal database that provides free access to Kenyan legal resources, information, and services. Contract forms such as house rental agreements, house help contracts, and car sale agreements are among the platform’s resources. Harman Grewal, Managing Director of Kenyanlaw.com, said the platform is a game-changer and a timely solution.
“After much research, we realized people do not have easy access or knowledge of what the law is in Kenya. We have therefore created a digital platform that aims to be the largest database of legal information, services and resources in Kenya,” he averred.
Is it easy to use?
Kenyanlaw.com also provides easy-to-understand advice on legal processes in Kenya, such as how to get married, how to buy land, and what Kenyan law says about drones. For an easy-to-understand framework, all of the manuals are written as three-pagers.
The portal provides free services, making it exceedingly simple to hire a lawyer for both simple and complex problems such as patents. The platform, according to the managing director, will make it simple for everyone to understand laws by providing simple article summaries on legal processes in Kenya, which citizens can read about things like what to do after a car accident or how to properly terminate a domestic worker’s contract.
“No one wants to get caught on the wrong side of the law, we often do; as a result of not knowing the law. Unfortunately, ignorance is not a defence but fortunately, it is not a sentence,” Grewal said.
“There are free contract templates available so people can see how the process of certain legal procedures is to be conducted. Oftentimes people are taken advantage of because they did not know the law.
He added: “One goal for Kenyanlaw.com is to make it as easy as possible to know what the law exactly is,” he added.
So, what’s the other goal?
The second purpose is to make it as simple as possible to discover a legal service provider by following a flow chart that leads to a legal service provider’s digital doorstep. This implies that even if you’re looking for a specific lawyer, such as a sports lawyer in Kenya or a personal injury lawyer in Meru, the website can help you find them.
The AI Lawyer, according to Isaac Cohen, Creative Director of Kenyanlaw.com, is the biggest triumph since it allows Kenyans to simply ask a legal question by recording themselves speaking and then being texted or emailed a video explanation. Furthermore, customers can use AI technology to connect with a nearby expert.
“The biggest breakthrough for us so far is the development of the legal Ai. This is an automatic legal response system that can respond to any and all legal queries. Questions can be asked in any format, including text, audio and even video in any language,” he explained.
This enables those who are unable to read and those who speak a minority language to gain access to justice through the platform.
He added that “This could finally be the solution for Kenya as most offences happen due to a lack of knowledge. Imagine if, your rights have been violated. And now you know what the processes are and you even know who to talk to and that it would even be possible to access justice.
