Big Changes, Big Honors, Big Impact!
It’s been an extraordinary year at Free Law Project. We launched bold new initiatives, received national recognition for our innovation, and continued expanding the tools and data that millions rely on to access the law.
Through it all, one thing has remained constant: you.
If CourtListener or RECAP helped you this year, you know how powerful free access to the law can be.
Your story inspires us — and your donation makes that access possible for someone else.
As we close out the year, we invite you to share your story and support Free Law Project. Together, we can keep public legal information truly public.
Here’s what we’ve been up to—and what your support makes possible. |
Free Law Project Launches our Justice Initiatives Division!
Justice Initiatives brings together our advocacy, our partnerships with courts and justice system leaders, and our commitment to building technology that can improve how people experience the legal system. By combining these threads into a single division, we can be more deliberate about shaping the tools and conversations that will define the next chapter of access to justice. This exciting division will be led by Jessica Frank, Director of Justice Initiatives.
We’re looking forward to sharing more about our progress in the months ahead. If you’re a court leader, legal aid advocate, or technologist who wants to collaborate, we'd love to hear from you (Jessica@free.law). Together, we can re-imagine how technology serves people in the justice system. READ MORE. |
- Our Executive Director, Michael Lissner, received the Paul H. Chapman award from the Foundation for Improvement of Justice recognizing his work at Free Law Project—building open technology and data infrastructure that makes courts more transparent, accountable, and accessible. READ MORE.
- Jessica Frank, Director of Justice Initiatives, was honored by Women Influence & Power in Law as the 2025 Law Firm Innovative Leader for her decade-plus of work at the intersection of law, technology, and access to justice. At Free Law Project she continues to rethink legal systems from the user's perspective - and leads teams to build tools that create lasting systemic impact.
- Free Law Project was named the winner of the 2025 American Legal Technology Award in Artificial Intelligence. This honor recognized our open-source, public-interest work using artificial intelligence to expand access to civil rights litigation. READ MORE.
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CourtListener’s Semantic Search API is Live!
We’re thrilled to announce a major leap forward in legal research. This powerful upgrade understands the meaning behind your query — delivering smarter, more intuitive results that go far beyond simple keywords.
Want the best of both worlds? A hybrid mode lets you combine natural-language search with exact terms for unmatched precision. And because we believe in open access, we’ve published the full case-law embeddings for anyone to download and build on.
Dive in and see what the future of open legal research looks like. READ MORE. |
FLP Briefly Noted:
- Jessica Frank, Director of Justice Initiatives, spoke with Ted Theodoropoulos on his podcast, Legal Innovation Spotlight about Technology, Equity, and the Role of the Courts. LISTEN HERE.
- Free Law Project joined a group of legal technology companies to file an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the case Thomson Reuters v. ROSS Intelligence, now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. READ MORE.
- RECAP search alerts for PACER are now live! CourtListener will automatically notify you whenever there's a new match in our PACER archive for any saved search you might have. Every CourtListener user gets five daily alerts for free. Want more? Become a member today.
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There is something for everyone in the FLP Swag Store!
Free Law Project’s swag store has something for everyone this season — from cozy scarves and sleek drinkware to adorable pet bowls. We’ve also added brand-new Justice Initiatives merch that you won’t want to miss. Treat yourself (or someone you love) and support open access to the law!
You can use your membership merch credits to shop! Having trouble finding your merch credits? Contact libby@free.law
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Questions? Reach out to Jenifer Whiston, Director of Philanthropy at jenifer@free.law |
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