MLConnect wins 2023 Law Tech Challenge

‘I was elated,’ said Annie Zhang, whose work as app developer for MLConnect was pivotal in her team’s victory. ‘I’d convinced myself we were not going to win, because I saw how amazing the other teams’ ideas were.’

The Law Tech Challenge sees UTS law students build apps for not-for-profit clients. This year’s clients were the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Sydney Story Factory, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and Marrickville Legal Centre.

The winner was announced by Peter Campbell from law firm Allens at a grand final on August 23, in an event at UTS Startups that was also live-streamed for an audience from Melbourne to Chicago. Campbell, head of the Allens Legal Product Lab, judged the event with Dominique Simsion, product marking director at Neota, and Professor Anita Stuhmcke, Dean at UTS Law.

‘I really love these sorts of challenges because they support access to justice,’ said Campbell. ‘It is a great journey to go through and I think every law student should go through it.’

Launched at UTS in 2016, the Challenge is an ambitious collaboration between four groups: law students; not-for-profit clients; a software company; and a law firm. The challenge divides 20 students into four teams, assigning each to a not-for-profit client. Each team then builds an app using Neota Logic software, with the help of a mentor from Allens. This year’s mentors – Tayla Price, Nicholas Ruff, Art Honeysett and Julian Kesov - are all UTS alumni.

‘The Allens Neota UTS Law Tech Challenge is representative of what we do here at UTS law,’ said Professor Stuhmcke in her opening remarks. ‘We aim to offer our students the opportunity to discover how innovative thinking and legal technology can solve social justice problems. The event brings together integrity, technology, law practice and giving back.’

I was genuinely, deeply impressed by the students' work – in fact, I can’t quite believe what they managed. 

- David Tuck, head of mission for ICRC Australia.

The calibre of this year’s apps was outstanding. As Stuhmcke said, there was a mere ‘pixel’ separating the teams.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) app received a Special Mention for ‘Highly Innovative and Inventive Use of Tech’. The ICRC app is an interactive educational tool that uses quizzes to teach users about international humanitarian law. The app will go live ahead of the ICRC’s War in Cities exhibition, opening in Melbourne in mid-November after visiting Canberra and Brisbane. 

‘I was genuinely, deeply impressed by the students' work – in fact, I can’t quite believe what they managed,’ said David Tuck, head of mission for ICRC Australia. ‘It struck me that they rightly identified some of the challenges of ‘conflict’ storytelling, not least of all the potential impact on the reader. They also absorbed a huge volume of substance, including on international humanitarian law, in a very short time.'

The Sydney Story Factory team won a Special Mention for ‘Contribution to Under-Resourced Communities’. The Sydney Story Factory (SSF) is a not-for-profit that works with children from under-resourced communities to write poems, short stories and other creative works. The SSF app, called Protect Your Passion, teaches users about the legal rights and obligations of authors in a way perfectly tailored for young people. The app encourages users - ‘Congratulations! You’re a poet (and you know it)’ - and creates a handbook that summarises key issues concerning defamation, copyright and generative-AI.

‘It was really a pleasure working with these students,’ said Nikola Amanovic, director of community and innovation at Sydney Story Factory. ‘It's the most successful collaboration we have had with uni students - and we've had many. They were so thoughtful and professional throughout the process and I have no doubt that they'll go on to do great things.’

The challenge presents a rare opportunity for students to do hands-on work at the intersection of law and technology, which is invaluable at a time when the legal industry is being reshaped by video-conferencing, generative-AI and other digital innovations.

This took students out of their comfort zones. ‘We were seriously challenged, and for that I’m forever grateful,’ said Aleksandra Chojnacki, a member of Team PIAC, which received a Special Mention for ‘Sparking Change that will Improve Lives’.

The PIAC app aims to make life better for people with disabilities, who will be able to log instances of discrimination experienced while travelling at Australia’s airports. Data collected will feed into PIAC’s recommendations for law reform. The app also points users to relevant pathways for complaints. 

These machines have to be built, and no-one’s building them. If you hired a coding team to build them, it would cost a fortune.

- Kevin Mulcahy, Vice-President of Education and Community Programs, Neota

All students received significant help throughout the year from Brooklyn-based Kevin Mulcahy, the Vice-President of Education and Community Programs at Neota who is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law and Cornell Law. Mulcahy was impressed by ‘the beauty of the logic’ in all the apps.

‘These machines have to be built, and no-one’s building them,’ Mulcahy said. ‘If you hired a coding team to build them, it would cost a fortune.’

In her opening remarks, Dominique Simsion from Neota Logic described how competing in the Challenge changed the course of her career.

‘It was a significant learning journey, and it led to a career in legal tech at Neota,’ Simsion said. ‘Just months before I was intent on a career in family law, or criminal law, or maybe public policy. It was a pivotal part of my degree to participate, because it opened up the possibilities of alternative career paths. And the impact was beyond that. What I learned about myself was that I love problem-solving, particularly around logic. In doing the program, I really hope that you learnt something about yourself.’

Professor Kylie Readman, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice President for Education and Students, awarded the Media Champions Prize for best media strategy to Team PIAC.

‘Two really important things that I think about for students are the opportunities for students to engage beyond the curriculum,’ Professor Readman said. ‘We've seen a lot of that tonight. And people who've really formed – this is the second thing - partnerships with each other in a way that is very real. You're doing actual work with an actual client, with actual mentors to produce something that really does make a difference.’

MLConnect follows on from the 2022 winner, which helped to connect Indigenous Australians with mentors.

This competition was the most rewarding experience I’ve had throughout university. 

- Annie Zhang, Business/Law student

The Challenge is run at UTS as part of the Brennan Justice and Leadership Program, named after Sir Gerard Brennan AC KBE GBS. It sees students commit to volunteer roles that advance social justice and develop a sense of leadership and service. For many students, participating in the Challenge turns out to be an enduring highlight.

‘This might sound exaggerated, but it was absolutely the best experience I was involved in during my time at university,’ said Art Honeysett, a former Challenge participant and UTS Law alumnus who now works at Allens. Honeysett was the mentor for Team Sydney Story Factory.

Annie Zhang from Team MLC felt the same. As well as winning the Challenge, Team MLC also received a Special Mention for ‘Maximum Benefit for the Client.’ 

‘I felt true joy when I saw the screen, and it said “Maximum value to the client - MLC”,’ said Zhang, a fourth year business/law student. ‘It was only then that I realised that that was what I’d been trying to do all along and the judges had recognised it.

‘This competition was the most rewarding experience I’ve had throughout university. I’ve been mainly focused on learning theoretical content and it’s rare that I can have an opportunity to apply my skills towards making a difference in something real, and more meaningful. When I graduate, I’ll look back on this experience with great fondness.’

Photos from the evening can be viewed on the Brennan Facebook Page.

Applications are now open for students to participate in the 2024 Allens Neota UTS Law Tech Challenge for Social Justice. Applications close Friday 15 September 2023. For enquiries and future collaborations email the Brennan Team at brennanprogram@uts.edu.au