Zach Zarnow

An image of the book cover for "Courts Unmasked: Civil Legal System Reform and Covid-19"

Hi Bluesky friends! I thought I’d use my first-ever post to announce that it’s publication day for my book, Courts Unmasked: Civil Legal System Reform and COVID-19 with @univpressofkansas.bsky.social 🎉🎉 1/🧵

Amazing opportunity!

Will you be attending next week in DC? Let’s talk! I’m excited to share more about Pro Bono Net’s work and would love to see how we might be able to partner.

📣 JOB ALERT: Pro Bono Net seeks a Data Engineer (remote) to join their team.

👉 Learn more and apply: careers2-extensishr....

#A2JJobs
#legaljobs

Excited to (finally!) publicly share the output of an AI audits class I taught last spring: an audit of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s LIA tool. As far as I know, it’s one of the first audits of its kind in the access to justice space.

law.duke.edu/sites/defaul...

👎

A picture showing how to make an alert: 1. Do a search in the RECAP Archive 2. Click the bell icon in the query bar. 3. A modal pops up where you can edit the details for the alert (give it a name, set the timing, etc.)

News! CourtListener now lets you keep up with everything that's happening in PACER. Save a query to CourtListener, and we'll tell you when there are new results.

RECAP Search Alerts are finally live!

Follow people, organizations, topics, and anything else you can imagine. Learn how below: 👇

Tiny Chat 161: Are Your Teens Texting About A2J? We’re old—and largely out of touch. But we’ve discovered something hopeful: young people are texting. About what? We don’t know. Did you…

Are your teens texting? Yes. Are they texting about #accesstojustice? Almost certainly. Proof: vimeo.com/showcase/700...

#Job alert! The Connecticut Judicial Branch is seeking a Access To Justice and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program Manager: www.jud.ct.gov/jobs/JobDeta...

#a2j #courts cc: @a2jjobs.bsky.social

Current Positions at Free Law Project Free Law Project is the leading nonprofit using technology and data to make the legal ecosystem more equitable and competitive. Creators of CourtListener, RECAP, and Bots.law.

We are hiring for two new positions! Please amplify and spread the word.

We're looking for exceptional candidates to serve as our first Operations Manager and our first Technical Partnerships Manager. Both roles are full time and remote!

Read all about it! free.law/hiring/

The Limits of Data Policymakers want to make decisions based on clear data, but important factors are lost when we rely solely on data. A philosopher writes:

The Limits of Data issues.org/limits-of-da...

This is not too long, approachable, and makes some really interesting points. Seems relevant at this moment

On the heels of his fantastic article finally going live, we convinced @rowanmg.bsky.social to join us on a #TinyChat for a short, fun peek behind the article and what surprised him along the way: vimeo.com/1078650658

Civil Court Without a Lawyer Is Risky. Why Do So Many People Do It? (Gift Article) It’s dangerous to go to court without legal representation — but more Americans are going it alone.

Along with many other smart #accesstojustice folks, I’m quoted in The NY Times magazine’s impressive new article discussing the access crisis and our state courts. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/m...

Editorial: Illinois taxpayers deserve more than excuses for the $250M computer mess The lesson is clear: When taxpayer dollars fund major tech projects, governments must be tough negotiators, not soft targets.

Don't let this: www.chicagotribune.com/2025/04/08/e... happen to you.

Use this: www.ncsc.org/__data/asset...

and this: exit.smallscale.org

My latest, in @technologyreview.com

😘

The famous “was the grink there?” tweet.

Just spent the day sitting next to @awidman.bsky.social, talking about access to justice stuff, and it was delightful! An experience I’d highly recommend.

So happy to see the first 🦋 post — congrats again!

For those interested in access to justice, courts, and U.S. politics, see this important thread 🧵⬇️ and buy the book! #polisky

🧵 thread on an important new book, out now, with really important insights for those of us working to increase access to justice and to improve the courts ⤵️

Tea bag wrapper listing alleged health benefits: expell (sic) insomnia, relieve constipation, reduce blood lipid, postpone aging

I am using tea to become insanely powerful

Picture of the book “The Day of the Triffids” by John Wyndham

This book was published in 1951 and I just devoured it on a flight. Thematically striking and far too relevant feeling for modern times.

Install RECAP. You’ll save money and you’ll help others too! It takes 1 minute and has zero configuration: free.law/recap

Tiny Chat 151: 12 Scrappy Access to Justice Gifts What better way to kick off the New Year than with 12 “presents”—practical, scrappy access-to-justice tips you can implement right now to improve…

12 scrappy things you can do to increase access to justice. Linked resources, 5ish minute video, Santa costumes. vimeo.com/1044296970

If you're one of the goobers who encouraged me to bring A2J Jobs to Bluesky, please go follow 👉 a2jjobs.bsky.social

Cookie Monster raised fist of solidarity (and baby)

DOJ's #AccesstoJustice team is launching a #rural focused A2J Prize. Open to non-profits, higher ed, courts, PD's and more. Official launch January 7, but you can learn more and get ready to apply for up to $50K in #funding for grand prize winner. More: www.justice.gov/atj/access-j...

Stretch Limo :: Town Car (?)