The last few months brought some exciting developments to the Document Assembly Line, especially a new, simplified, standalone e-filing user interface for self-represented litigants that we’ll start testing early next year.
On this page
Volunteers
Some Document Assembly Line volunteers are already helping us keep our interviews up-to-date, reliable, and accessible, and more are finishing up their training so they can get started!
Learn more about volunteering with the Document Assembly Line. (We aren’t ready to train a new wave of volunteers just yet, but you can leave your information and we’ll get in touch when we are!)
Community workshops
New workshops:
If you want to attend our First-Wednesday Workshops, you can register here. (The next workshop, on coding Docassemble interviews with AI, has been moved to December 17th.)
You can view recordings of our workshops on the LIT Blog, and we’ve collected them in a playlist on our YouTube channel.
Software updates
AL software
- New Jinja filters for Word templates (AssemblyLine)
- Validate Jinja in Word templates in GitHub repos (ALAactions)
- Interview usage stats (ALDashboard)
- Coming soon to ALKilnInThePlayground: randomized tests, improved language and visual clarity, and extensive architecture improvements (ALKilnInThePlayground)
- The documentation now incorporates the introductory Docassemble resources from Quinten’s Legal Tech Class website (AssemblyLine-documentation)
Quinten has also been experimenting with using AI to help him build a new lower-code/guided coding editor for Docassemble, with the goal of:
- Making it easier to get started with Docassemble
- Making it possible to do simple things without code
- Not getting in the way when you need to do complex things with code
At the moment it’s just an experiment in the very early stages, but it does show strong potential and you can see a sneak peek on Quinten’s latest post.
E-filing
NEW: LITEfile
A simplified e-filing user experience for self-represented litigants.
Filing documents with the court is a final hurdle faced by litigants. It can be deceptively complex, especially for those new to it, and existing e-filing tools are also complex. But we don’t think they have to be.
Our goal for LITEfile is to improve the e-filing user experience for self-represented litigants by simplifying it. To do that, LITEfile strips down the user interface to the essentials, guides the filer through the process with a rules-based workflow, and incorporates AI for key tasks:
- Identifying documents
- Suggesting appropriate filing codes
- Pre-filling fields based on uploaded documents
- Spotting issues that might prevent successful filing
LITEfile is not tied to Docassemble interviews. It is a general-purpose e-filing tool, and filers can upload any documents for filing, no matter how they were created. (But it will also work well with Docassemble interviews, of course!)
We worked with Kind Systems to design and develop the user experience and proof of concept, and we are refining the software in-house. We plan to start beta testing LITEfile with Illinois and Vermont in early 2025.
LITEfile was developed with funding from Legal Services Vermont, through a Legal Services Corporation grant, and with input from the Illinois Courts and Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO).
For more detailed AL and e-filing software release notes, see these links.