Partner for Purpose: This story is the third in a five-part series highlighting how UBC faculty and staff partnerships create meaningful change, both within the university and beyond.  

Experiential learning is central to legal education—along with the stress that often comes with it. That’s why lecturer Jon Festinger, K.C., and professor of teaching Nikos Harris, K.C., at the Peter A. Allard School of Law created a virtual moot court: a simulated courtroom environment where students could practice oral arguments and receive instant AI-supported feedback. After seeing how this low-pressure setting helped students strengthen their advocacy skills and build confidence, they set out to develop a new tool—one that could help students approach unfamiliar legal tasks with greater clarity and assurance.

“The law that students learn in clinics is just as important as the law they learn in the classroom” said Harris. “Our clinical programs provide a hands-on learning opportunity for students to work directly with clients and provide essential legal services to low-income persons. It is a vital experience, but it can also be one of the most demanding parts of a student’s legal education.”

To explore the idea, they partnered with the UBC Cloud Innovation Centre (CIC)—a collaboration between UBC and Amazon Web Services (AWS) where multi-disciplinary student teams (including developers and project assistants) create open-source technology solutions with social impact. With CIC’s support, they began developing what is now known as the Legal Aid Tool.

“Real cases bring real pressure,” said Festinger. “Students must assess facts, navigate unsettled law and prepare arguments—all under the guidance of supervising lawyers who need insight into how students are approaching each file.”

Student-led innovation with real-world impact

CIC projects are led by students, who are guided and supported by experienced staff. Teams include both technical and non-technical students. Everything they build is shared as open-source, providing reusable tools that others can adopt or adapt.

“This project aligns perfectly with CIC’s vision,” said Liana Leung, director of CIC. “We’re here to support experiential learning and help solve real-world problems. This was a meaningful challenge—supporting students and improving access to justice—and it was a great fit.”

“We hire a lot of co-op students, and they gain hands-on experience working with cloud technology and generative AI. Every project we complete gets published with full documentation, so it can be used by other organizations.”

Festinger noted that the CIC team added thoughtful process features that took the tool beyond the original concept.

“CIC exceeded expectations in translating the academic vision into a usable tool,” he said. “And now we’re at the place where it’s going to be tested in a real clinic.”

A tool designed to ask better questions—not provide answers

Over the course of a semester, CIC student developers worked closely with Festinger and Harris to bring the idea to life. Unlike tools that attempt to generate legal solutions, the Legal Aid Tool prompts students to think critically. A student inputs a case scenario, and the system responds with targeted questions about factual gaps, relevant legal issues and directions for deeper research.

“The key aspect of the success of this tool is that it isn’t designed to provide answers,” said Festinger. “Instead, it asks questions that prompt students to think more critically and creatively.”

“Jon and I were amazed at how quickly the CIC staff and students were able to take our numerous requirements and implement them in a manner that created an excellent learning tool,” Harris added.

Expanding access to justice

The Legal Aid Tool is now entering its second phase, with Salima Samani, K.C.—Allard law lecturer and director of legal services at the Indigenous Community Legal Clinic (ICLC)—joining the team. The goal is to begin testing the tool in the ICLC in 2026, with plans to expand it to all Allard law clinics.

“This tool could really help students in broadening their legal and factual analysis in cases, and the tool also critically allows the supervising lawyer to see a record of the students’ use of the tool,” said Samani.

While the tool is designed for students, Festinger sees its potential for the broader public—particularly the millions of Canadians each year who navigate legal issues without representation.

This collaboration supports UBC’s strategic directions, enhancing experiential learning while advancing the thoughtful development and application of emerging technologies. Beyond its value in teaching and learning, this project also has the potential to help address a critical and growing problem in our society today: access to justice. 

“Responsible AI tools which help students and the general public analyze their legal problems could one day provide very meaningful assistance to the millions of Canadian each year who are attempting to navigate legal problems on their own because they cannot afford a lawyer,” said Festinger.