By Chris Caesar
law of technology
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winter 2026
On a recent morning at the Suffolk County Registry of Probate, a familiar scene unfolded: People waited in line with divorce paperwork, only to be sent back for missing forms or incomplete financial statements. Some returned again and again, trapped in a cycle of confusion and delay. For Judge John Casey, JD ’82, who spent seven years as the chief justice of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court, it’s a problem he’s seen thousands of times.
Now, as director of Suffolk Law’s American Arbitration Association Online Dispute Resolution (AAA-ODR) Innovation Clinic, the former chief justice is helping students do more than observe the challenges—they’re developing digital tools and guided processes that will make low-contest divorces in Massachusetts more accessible and efficient.
The clinic’s approach is hands-on. Students begin by navigating the court system as users would: locating forms, filling out the notoriously complex financial statement, and shadowing court staff. Their lack of experience in family law turns out to be an advantage. They ask a lot of questions: Why not send appointment reminders by text? Why transcribe pay stubs manually? Why ask for weekly electric bills when utilities are billed monthly?
“They’re making practical suggestions that can help change how the system works,” Casey says. “That’s the kind of lawyer we need—someone who understands the law and knows how to improve the system.”
The scale of the challenge is immense. Massachusetts Probate and Family Court sees more than 100,000 filings annually, with roughly 75% involving at least one self-represented party. Many can’t afford legal help; others don’t realize they need it until they’re already lost in paperwork.
Eight students are now building tools to address these barriers. As members of Suffolk Law’s LIT Lab, two of the students are creating guided interviews that generate court-ready forms from plain-language answers. Think TurboTax for low-contest divorce. The entire team is also adapting a digital dispute-resolution platform to comport with Massachusetts family law.
The clinic is partnering with the AAA and using their ODR.com platform, through which students are customizing a family law tool that incorporates Massachusetts custody rules, child support guidelines, and screening protocols.
The tool will help divorcing parties identify areas of agreement and negotiate online, reducing the need for court appearances. Casey recalls a typical snafu that could easily be addressed by the parties online: divorcing parents who both understand that their daughter’s gymnastics class has moved to Wednesday nights, interfering with the father’s proposed parenting schedule. “It’s demoralizing to the parties that they have to wait months to get that resolved,” he says. “Some people give up entirely when the process becomes too frustrating, which creates further problems down the road.”
By the start of 2026, students will begin representing real clients, trying out some of the tools they’ve built. The goal: a tested, replicable workflow that helps litigants move more quickly into the next chapter in their lives.
technology of law
By Michael Fisch
Photography: Michael J. Clarke
Michael J. Clarke