Pocket Lawyer: Personalised Legal Support on a Mobile Phone
THE QUESTION
Can an AI-powered offline digital tool provide legal support for hard-to-reach populations in rural Tanzania?
LOCATION: Tanzania
SECTOR: Access to Justice
TECH: AI, Mobile
TIMELINE: January 2026 - Present
PARTNERS: TBD
PIONEER: Felix Wood
The challenge
Tanzania continues to experience a significant justice gap, with many people unaware of their rights or how to enforce them. Although legal awareness and education are vital for meaningful participation in society and human flourishing, access to justice remains out of reach for many Tanzanians because legal advice is costly, laws are complex and confusing, and legal rules and procedures are applied inconsistently. With only 2,000 qualified advocates for over 65 million people, formal legal services are thinly spread and prohibitively expensive. Women struggle to navigate inheritance claims, land rights, marriage and birth registration, child maintenance, and protection from gender-based violence. Without clear guidance, they face displacement, loss of livelihood, and exclusion from credit and financial inclusion.
While a smartphone-based legal chatbot has already shown promise on Whatsapp, it also excludes millions of people who have basic, non-internet-enabled mobile phones. The challenge lies in whether bespoke legal content can reach these last-mile populations through simple voice technology.
The solution
The pilot will test the addition of a voice channel accessible from any basic mobile phone. Users dial a toll-free number, choose a topic (inheritance, land, family, or gender-based violence) by speaking or pressing keys, and answer 2-4 simple questions in Swahili or English. AI running on the server accesses verified legal content to provide tailored, step-by-step guidance, including which office to visit, what documents to bring, likely fees and timelines, and where to get in-person help. Users can request SMS summaries for later reference or privacy, and the system includes safety features that detect danger-related words and offer discreet information, quick exits, and warm referrals to trusted services. The solution requires no internet, data, or app downloads, making it accessible on any handset while maintaining privacy by default. No names or ID numbers are required.
The solution reaches the hardest-to-reach populations, respects privacy, and provides consistent practical guidance that reduces avoidable barriers. The pilot will assess whether voice technology can deliver accurate, safe legal guidance at scale, examining resource implications for nationwide rollout and broader applications in health education, market information, and other last-mile services.
Our learnings and stories so far
This pilot hasn’t started to publish yet, but there are plenty of other blogs to read below. Check back soon!
From Tanzania and the Sahel to Ukraine, Mexico, and Southeast Asia, this new cohort reflects a drive to design and harness tools for the fragile systems, low-connectivity environments, and real institutional constraints that need innovative solutions more than ever.