Every pro-bono legal team knows the case worth saying yes to: a nonprofit stretched thin, a community that needs an advocate. The hard part is finding the hours, especially for a discovery process built for teams with far deeper resources.
Justice for Change gives those hours back by putting Relativity's technology to work on pro bono matters. And behind nearly every one of those projects is a partner, who stands ready to host data, train legal teams, and lend expertise that under-resourced organizations could rarely access otherwise. That's the story we're telling at RelFest Chicago in “Creating Strategic Value Through Justice for Change,” a session for the partners who make this program possible, and for every partner wondering how to get involved.
Justice for Change Runs on Partners
As Chief Partner Officer Laurie Usewicz shared late last year, Justice for Change recently marked its fifth anniversary. The program is built on a simple but powerful belief: access to justice should not depend on access to resources.
The numbers tell part of the story: in more than 250 matters around the world and at no cost, Relativity aiR is in the hands of organizations advancing social justice and serving their communities. More than 100 organizations have participated, from innocence projects to civil rights litigators to disability rights advocates, and partners have been redefining what's possible when we work together for good.
Because make no mistake: none of it happens without partners. Justice for Change pairs each pro bono recipient with a law firm or service provider who hosts their data and provides training, administration, and project management support. Partners are, as Senior Manager of Social Impact Johnathan Hill puts it, “the first line of defense on upleveling and upskilling nonprofits.”
We’re now approaching six years of Justice for Change, and the impact the program has had is a direct result of partner investment, expertise, and commitment. Our upcoming RelFest Chicago session is meant to help us celebrate that work; in it, we’ll also explore what partners gain from their participation in Justice for Change projects.
Doing Good and Growing Your Business Are Not Mutually Exclusive
Let’s preview just that topic: what, in addition to the knowledge of simply doing good for its own sake, do participating partners get out of their pro bono work?
Justice for Change is a social impact program at heart, but partners consistently tell us the experience strengthens their business, too:
- Stronger relationships. Pro bono collaboration builds trust with current clients and creates connections with new ones. Some firms have found that engaging with Justice for Change deepened their broader relationships with partners and technology providers—including us!
- A proving ground for innovation. Justice for Change matters surface data challenges that commercial work rarely does, from degraded and handwritten documents to complex civil rights discovery. Partners have used these matters to develop new technical capabilities and to put Relativity aiR to work on real cases for the first time.
- Team engagement, recognition, and retention. Partners report that this work energizes their people. Contributing skills to a matter with real human stakes is a morale builder that few commercial engagements can match, and pro bono work has a demonstrated, material impact on employee satisfaction.
- Market differentiation. Partners can earn Relativity's Non-Profit Competency, a public signal of expertise in pro bono and social justice work, by participating in Justice for Change projects.
Bottom line? This work is important, rewarding, and fascinating. Our partners often uncover what's possible before anyone else. We’re excited to share some of those stories firsthand at RelFest Chicago.
Technology for Good, Applied Responsibly
Today, the same agentic AI that helps the world's most sophisticated legal teams organize data and discover the truth also helps a small nonprofit team prepare for depositions, review evidence, and build a case narrative in a fraction of the time manual review would take.
While the justice gap is real and access isn’t straightforward, we believe that technology can be a great equalizer when it comes to legal matters of all shapes and sizes. At Relativity, our part in this equation is to provide access to that technology via Justice for Change. But our partner organizations are the ones who make it impactful by teaching teams to use it well, and supporting them through it from start to finish.
For partners, every hour of hosting and support goes further. Time saved on organizing documents is time a pro bono team spends on strategy, clients, and outcomes. That is what responsible innovation looks like in practice: powerful tools, in the right hands, applied to work that matters.
Every Partner Can Participate
There is no single model for success. Large, medium, and small partners all contribute in ways that fit their strengths and resources: hosting matters, joining panels, comarketing, contributing thought leadership, or offering specialized services.
We celebrate the partners already leading the way, including those who have earned the Non-Profit Competency. You may meet many of them in Chicago; just look for Array, Cimplifi, Complete Discovery Source, Everest Discovery, FRP Advisory, and Page One Legal.
And if your organization has ever wondered whether it's big enough, resourced enough, or experienced enough to participate: yes! Come to our RelFest session to learn how to articulate your answer and understand next steps.
Walk Away With a Clear Path Forward
Whether you're a longtime Justice for Change partner or exploring the program for the first time, you'll leave with practical guidance for how to move forward: how the program works, who to contact, and how to take your first step. Attending also counts toward qualifying for the Non-Profit Competency.
Here are the details:
Advancing Impact Through Justice for Change
- Wednesday, September 30 at 1:00 pm CT (45 minutes)
- Crystal B Room, RelFest Chicago
- Speakers: Jaclyn Sattler and Johnathan Hill, leaders on Relativity’s social impact team
- Seating is limited to 350, and the session will be recorded.
Start building your RelFest agenda here, and make sure this one is on it!
While you do, note that this session sits at the intersection of two RelFest tracks:
- The Community and Culture track explores the people side of legal data work: community collaboration, social impact, professional growth, and the culture that connects the Relativity ecosystem. Explore more sessions here.
- The Partner track is dedicated to strengthening partnerships, sharing expertise, and building the future of that ecosystem together. Check out the full list of sessions here.
Reach Out Any Time
We hope to see you in Chicago and can’t wait to talk pro bono with you. Our community makes Justice for Change possible, and we’d love to welcome you into this corner of it. Please catch up with us at the event and ask any and all of your questions!
If you can’t make it to Chicago or just have burning questions that need answers sooner, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can drop us a line any time by emailing socialimpact@relativity.com.
Graphics for this article were created by Caroline Patterson.
