Legal tech hackathon challenges students to rethink access to justice

Students from across Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland recently took part in a ground-breaking legal tech hackathon, thought to be the first of its kind in Aotearoa New Zealand. Over one high-energy weekend, teams of students combined their skills and creativity to prototype technology that could improve how people access legal and social support systems.

The event was co-hosted by the Centre for Advancing Law and Technology Responsibly (ALTeR) and the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), and designed to be fast-paced, collaborative, and deeply focused on social impact. Students joined as individuals and were placed into diverse teams. Up for grabs was a $5,000 cash prize pool, decided by a panel of industry experts.

Over a 24-hour sprint, participants tackled complex challenges based on real-life barriers people face in Aotearoa. These included navigating legal documents, applying for government support, and accessing information in moments of stress or vulnerability. Along the way, students received support from mentors working in law, policy, community advocacy and tech.

Dr Alexandra Andhov, Director of ALTeR, said the hackathon offered a unique opportunity for students to explore how technology can be a force for good within the legal system.

"Legal tech is advancing quickly, and while there is real excitement about the potential of tools like AI, we can’t ignore the importance of ethical design. It was encouraging to see students from so many different backgrounds working together to ask critical questions about how technology can support, rather than undermine, access to justice. I was genuinely impressed by their curiosity, and by the practical, thoughtful solutions they produced."

The event was co-facilitated by CIE’s Technology and Prototyping Manager, Sean Kelly, who noted a significant shift from typical hackathon demographics. "One thing that stood out to me was the diversity of our participants. We actually had more women than men apply to join, which is not something you usually see in tech-focused hackathons. It really highlighted how important it is to design innovation programmes that are inclusive and relevant across disciplines."

Teams began the hackathon by building a team contract and selecting a challenge to work on. They explored their chosen problem through conversation and research, framed a clear problem statement, and then moved into rapid ideation and prototyping. Throughout the event, participants were introduced to design thinking principles and guided through each step of the innovation process.

The winning team comprised of students of computer science, law, psychology and physics. They developed a privacy-first legal assistant powered by AI that helps people understand their legal rights without needing to navigate dense legal language. Their prototype integrated a retrieval-based model with a language generation tool, which enabled the assistant to respond with plain-language summaries backed by legal sources. The tool was designed to support users navigating social welfare systems, allowing them to upload documents or ask questions and receive real-time guidance in everyday language.

The runner-up team proposed creating an app and website to simplify the MSD review process, with an animated Kiwi called Koru to help guide and encourage users.

The hackathon was made possible through the support of partners Momentum, UniServices and Syncopate, who contributed expertise, resources and time to help bring the event to life.

More than just a competition, the hackathon gave students a rare opportunity to work on meaningful problems with real-world stakes, while building skills in innovation, collaboration and responsible tech development. It also marked an important step in connecting Aotearoa’s legal and tech communities, showing what is possible when future professionals are empowered to build tools that serve people first.

Professor Andhov believes the value of the event extends far beyond the prototypes themselves. "When we give students the freedom and the support to experiment, they come up with ideas that can make a real difference. That’s what we saw this weekend. These are the kinds of learning experiences that help shape thoughtful, capable leaders in the legal tech space."