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In this second installment of our end-of-year series, learn more about the changes and accomplishments at Justia over the course of the year.
With only a few days remaining in 2021, we are taking a look back at all that Justia has accomplished this year! Throughout the past 12 months, Justia has continued in our mission to make the law and legal resources free for all.
We uploaded millions of new and updated laws and cases to the Justia Portal, expanded our consumer content centers, and more! We have also empowered lawyers to improve their legal marketing strategies and achieve their practice-growth goals. A dedicated team of Justians worked relentlessly behind the scenes to make this all possible, but with opportunities for a little bit of fun along the way.
Without further ado, let’s take a look back at the highlights of Justia’s 2021.
Increased Access to Free Legal Resources
At Justia, our commitment to increasing free access to the law is serious. We reached new heights in 2021 by providing the general public and lawyers alike with numerous legal resources that ease legal research and work to demystify the legal system.
A Quick Look at the Numbers
Over the past twelve months, we shared lots of free legal information online. The numbers alone work to illustrate just how often Justia was able to connect people with the law. Here are a few quick highlights:
The Details
Numbers and statistics help paint the picture of just how much free law we shared this year, but they do not tell the full story. Here is a deeper dive into the details.
50 State Form Resources
This year, the Justia Team worked to equip users with basic information on common legal matters, as well as publicly available, relevant forms that may help them resolve their matter without enlisting precious resources for a courtroom battle. During 2021, our form resources were expanded to include information for each of the following in all 50 U.S. States: Alimony, Bankruptcy, Paternity, Domestic Violence Restraining Orders, Evictions, Expungements, Real Estate, Small Claims, and Wills.
New & Expanded Justia Legal Guides
In addition to our 50-State surveys of forms and resources, the Justia Team expanded and updated the information available in our existing Justia Legal Guides, while creating new centers for popular and common topics. Our new and expanded Justia Legal Guides cover a variety of information, including Administrative Law, Adoption, Agricultural Law, Animal/Dog Law, Aviation Law, Banking and Finance Law, Birth Injury – New in 2021, Cannabis Law – New in 2021, Child Custody and Support, Civil Rights and Discrimination, Communications and Internet Law, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Divorce, Drunk Driving (DUI/DWI), Entertainment Law, Estate Planning, Family Law, International Law, Maritime Law, Native American Law, Probate – New in 2021, Sports Law, and Truck Accidents – New in 2021.
Supporting Entrepreneurs
To further help budding entrepreneurs in reaching their goals, we shared business incorporation information for key states as part of the Justia Legal Guide for small businesses. Now, people can readily access “How To” guides on incorporating a business in California, Texas, Florida, New York, Delaware, and Nevada.
COVID-19 Resources
In 2020, Justia launched our COVID-19 resources center. As the pandemic continued throughout 2021, Justia shared up-to-date information on the new laws and policies that continued to evolve throughout the year, including evictions, travel restrictions, mask mandates, court operations, and economic reopening.
Expanding Access to the Law Abroad
In addition to helping people better access legal resources for the United States, Justia has continued to expand the Justia Mexico Portal throughout 2021. We shared daily updates in the Mexico COVID-19 resource center. We also developed new content and pages covering common topics important to Mexican consumers, including labor law, civil law, commercial law, tax law, and business law.
Connecting Lawyers and the Public
The Justia Lawyer Directory
We also increased connections between lawyers and people seeking legal representation. More than one million phone calls to attorneys were initiated from the Justia Lawyer Directory. In fact, approximately two calls were initiated for every minute last year…and that doesn’t even count the contact forms submitted! We also updated the editing interface for lawyers utilizing the Justia Lawyer Directory, adding an easy-to-read dashboard and simplifying the editing process.
Justia Ask A Lawyer
People in need of basic legal information frequently turned to Justia Ask A Lawyer for assistance. Questions were most frequently received throughout the past year from users in California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, New York, Ohio, Louisiana, Michigan, Tennessee, and Kentucky. These questions most commonly were about issues in the areas of criminal law, family law, real estate law, child custody, and landlord-tenant law.
Additionally, people frequently searched the existing questions and answers on our database seeking information and knowledge. Below were the most commonly searched keywords over the past year:
Many attorneys answered the call, providing thousands of responses to questions submitted by our users. However, certain lawyers went above and beyond. These were the 10 of the most active attorneys on Justia Ask A Lawyer over the past 12 months: Tim Akpinar, Timothy Denison, Anthony M. Avery, Ellen Cronin Badeaux, Dale S. Gribow, Terrence H. Thorgaard, Maurice Mandel II, Marcos Garciaacosta, Mark Oakley, and Peter N. Munsing.
Helping Lawyers Grow Their Practice
Throughout the year, Justia continued to offer products and services designed to help lawyers grow their practice. As part of these efforts, we expanded the information available on the Justia Onward Legal Marketing & Tech Blog, publishing nearly 100 posts over the past year.
We continued to offer high-quality websites and blogs through Justia Elevate and paid search advertising solutions through Justia Amplify. Lawyers could also increase their visibility in the Justia Lawyer Directory by purchasing Justia Premium Placements.
In addition, we launched Justia Connect, an exclusive membership program for lawyers that is designed to connect legal professionals with resources and benefits to help them achieve their goals.
Working for the Community
Despite the ongoing pandemic, our Justia Mexico office was able to continue connecting with the community in unique ways. We hosted virtual tours of our Saltillo offices to students from the Universidad La Salle, Saltillo, Coahuila and Instituto Tecnológico Superior Campus Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua. Additionally, we hosted online conferences on legal marketing, artificial intelligence, legal research, and job hunting for students from the Universidad La Salle, Saltillo, Coahuila, Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, Saltillo, Coahuila, and Tecnológico Nacional de México, Campus Monclova, Coahuila.
Building Team Justia
Our team is the heart of our company. While working diligently for our clients and the public, we continued to prioritize our team of dedicated Justians. Our group grew this year and was able to bond through a number of virtual events! For the sports fans, we hosted a Super Bowl Challenge and a March Madness Basketball Challenge.
We learned new skills through a virtual cooking class and a virtual painting class.
We engaged in friendly competition through the Justia International Super Trivia Challenge and Justia Bingo, as well as our annual Halloween costume contest (The Ghoulie Awards) and our ugly holiday sweater competition.
Throughout the year, Justians received surprises in the mail, including a box of brand new Justia “Swag”, bandanas for their furry friends, and Mrs. Fields cookies!
Looking Ahead to 2022
In the coming year, Justia looks forward to continuing to share free law with all of you. We are eager to help lawyers take their practices to new heights and continue to work with the best team! There are plenty of exciting things on the horizon (stay tuned!), and we are looking forward to sharing all of them with you.
