Robert Ambrogi publishes an award winning blog that tracks inriguing law sites for the legal profession.  On Monday he posted his listing of the The 10 Most Important Legal Technology Developments of 2013.

Guess what?  One of those listed is  Technology helped fill the shortfall in access to justice.

The full text of that entry is below:

Over the last few years, programs that deliver legal assistance to the poor and that enhance access to justice have been hard hit by IOLTA shortfalls and slashed budgets. Increasingly, technology has come to play an important role in helping to make up for these shortfalls. Across the United States, legal services providers and have turned to technology to help fill the gap in direct legal services. Likewise, courts have increasingly turned to technology to help service dramatically increasing numbers of pro se litigants. During 2013, one of the most vocal advocates for innovations in legal technology to facilitate the delivery of legal services was Legal Services Corporation President Jim Sandman. Local legal aid programs all across the country have similarly pursued technology initiatives. You can get a good sense of what’s going on in this area by perusing the agenda for the LSC’s Technology Initiative Grant conference that will take place Jan. 15-17 in Florida.

This is important not only because its nice to get recognition, but because it helps put the access to justice technology community in a better position to argue for partnerships and resources, and most important of all, a commitment to innovation.

Jim Sandman has long talked about the need for LSC and Legal Aid to be seen as in the forefront of legal technology, not bringing up the rear, and this news suggests that Jim is beginning to get this message out.  He sees this as a potential overall source of credibility for the movement.

Lets makes sure that we do all we can to spread the word about the Technology Summit Report, and its potential as a collaboration incentivizing spur.  I would encourage ATJ Commissions, courts, and legal aid programs to find ways to link this honor and the Report to the specifics of their own ongoing innovations, so that they can show how much they are part of an emerging wave.

In addition, the endorsement in the 2013 list of several other related developments should be of use.  These include the importance of mobile, developments in legal education, analytics, and visual law.

Its a new day as well as a new year.