Kelechi Achinonu: “We created a platform that helps people understand if they are going through one form of abuse or another”

By Pablo Yannone Sancho, Journalist at GLTH

Kelechi has always wanted to be a lawyer who defends people and fights for her rights. Nowadays, she is passionate about access to justice in her region, Nigeria, and she believes in the importance of “conversations” to transform mindsets and help things to get better. So, when she was asked to join the advisory, she did not think twice and she just “jumped in”. “I was looking to connect globally with like-minded people”, she claims. 

Her work focuses on leveraging technology to maximize efficiency in the legal sector, using it as a powerful tool to transform legal practices. Apart from being a lawyer, Kelechi works helping justice startups, identifying them and supporting them in the work that they do. Indeed, she has shared with us very interesting examples of solutions that are changing the landscape of the legal sector, as well as justice administration.

Making progress in justice through htechnology

One of her favorite examples of legal innovation comes from a South African company, Creative Contracts, that has reimagined legal agreements by making them more engaging and user-friendly. "It’s about making legal documents come alive, allowing people to truly understand the agreements they’re entering into," she explains.

Despite the progress in legal tech, Kelechi remarks the challenges: “We are no longer on the red scale of ignorance, but I think there is still a lot to do in terms of implementation, especially because speaking from the African side, there is an infrastructure problem.” With this, she means that while they are making strides in knowledge and awareness, the execution is still “lacking”. “No matter how good I do with a solution in an app”, she says, “some people don't have a high-quality phone or a smartphone, and some people don't have access to the internet.”

Kelechi remains optimistic about the future, despite nowadays, according to her, on a scale of 100%, we have only advanced 30/40%. "We should not be afraid”, she says, “we should embrace technology and make sure we get the best out of it," she advises. 

Following this line, Kelechi sees potential in using chatbots to guide individuals through the legal process. "Imagine being the victim of an attack and having a chatbot tell you exactly what to do, where to go, and who to contact," she says. For her, this is a way to empower people, providing them with immediate and actionable information.

She also has helped to deliver very interesting solutions for justice. “Recently, we created a platform that helps people understand if they are going through one form of abuse or another.” This is very useful because sometimes our minds can make us feel very confused.  “And we don't particularly understand that that's abuse”, Kelechi adds. “And thank God, technology is helping us to make that possible because anybody from anywhere, in any remote village, as long as you have access to the internet, you can access that platform and you can get that knowledge.”

Another interesting solution she is working on is for people who are incarcerated and don't have access to justice or lawyers. “So, they can connect through the help of the Correctional Service, for example, in Nigeria, to lawyers who are open to defending these kids pro bono.”

Government has also taken some steps, as Kelechi tells us: “We have seen situations where the government has introduced e-filing, allowing people to register for court proceedings online.”

Looking to the future, she regards that “different countries are having conversations, communities are emerging and some progress is being made”.

She believes also that in the next 10-20 years conversations will be very different, blending the wisdom of older generations and the tech skills of younger ones. There is a future, according to her, where technology will be for everyone. Actually, it is for everyone already. “I would charge you to get involved, to be curious, to be engaged and don't be afraid to push boundaries. If you have an idea of ​​what to do, how to make things better for people, take the step and you will definitely find your tribe along the way.”

A little bit of Kelechi's background

Since she was young, she has always tried to defend people. There, In Nigeria, exists a notion that associates this characteristic with being a lawyer, which is what she wanted to be since she was conscious. “If I wasn't a lawyer, I would say I could be a veterinarian because I loved animals”, she claims.

Her mantra is a particular one: “nothing dies in my hands.” What does it mean? “It's like, no matter what venture I go on, no matter what risk I take, and by risk I mean, trying to start a venture, trying to start a product line, whatever, nothing dies in my hands. It means there will be some lessons, there will be progress, it will still make some appeal.”

Her favorite place is also very particular, although many of us would probably choose it if we noticed it at the moment of being asked: “my bed”, she says. “I feel like sleeping is a gift from God, and I really enjoy staying in my bed and sleeping.” There, in her bed, she can also watch her favorite TV show: Blacklist. If she resists the desire to sleep, she can watch it again and again. “It's a very interesting trilogy, it's a very long story, but the popular actor in the series is called Raymond Reddington, and he's my favorite actor, or rather, my favorite character.”

Kelechi's outlook on life is shaped by her focus on growth and self-improvement. When asked if she’d prefer to travel to the past or the future, she chose the future, saying, "The past is filled with what-ifs and regrets, but I believe everything I’ve done has led me to who I am today." Her philosophy is grounded in resilience and faith, often quoting, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," a mantra that guides her through life’s challenges.

- Kelechi Achinonu

Lead, Strategy & Special Projects - TLP Advisory

#legaltech #people #behindlegaltech