Launching NoticeAssist: Software That Helps Litigators Draft Better Class Action Notices
Jocelyn Larkin, former Impact Fund Executive Director
Last month we launched NoticeAssist, the first-of-its-kind, free software tool to help practitioners draft clear and effective class notices. In a moment, I’ll tell you what it can do for you. But, some of you may be wondering - why software and why now?
At the Impact Fund, we love class actions. They are an incredibly effective way to ensure ordinary people, who have all been harmed in the same way, can effectively and efficiently obtain justice. Because of this marvelous procedural tool, corporations cannot get by with tacking on small but illegal charges to their customers’ bills, and governments actors can be held to account.
Ordinary Folks Dislike Class Notices
But why doesn’t everyone share our passion? Almost a decade ago, we convened a focus group to find out why. What we consistently heard was that ordinary folks really disliked the notices that they received in the mail — full of indecipherable legalese, all in tiny font with no margins. Rather than wade through the notice to get what they were entitled to, they tossed the notice in the bin.
And, let’s face it: they had a point.
Sending Notices That People Want to Read
Our team realized we could fix this (or make it much better) if we could figure out how to draft readable but legally compliant notices and then convince lawyers and judges to use them. With the help of graphic designers and plain language experts, we launched the Notice Project. Our first task was to create simplified and visually appealing Notice templates and then test them with real people.
Sounds easy, but that took lots of iterations and benefited greatly from feedback we received from lawyers and judges. Those templates — with clean design, useful language, and helpful infographics — are now available at www.NoticeProject.org. They have already been used in nearly a dozen cases.
Helping Lawyers Improve Notices
But, no resting on our laurels. The next step was to add a brainstorming feature that would help lawyers improve their drafts with suggested words and sentences geared to the reading level of their class members. Introducing NoticeAssist! The tool, technically an “add-in,” integrates into Microsoft Word and uses AI to generate suggestions with an easy-to-use interface.
If you’re worried that AI will be taking your job, that may happen, but it won’t be because of NoticeAssist. The tool won’t draft your notice from scratch - it will take your lousy notice and politely suggest: “You can do better than that!” And did I mention it’s free?
Help us improve access to justice and empower class members to understand their rights and get the compensation and justice they deserve. The next time you need to draft a class notice, give NoticeAssist a try!
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Click here to download NoticeAssist.
Get our Class Action Notice Templates and learn more about NoticeAssist at www.NoticeProject.org.