The Justice AI Hackathon at Techspace St Andrew Street brought three core Techspace principles to life: technology and creativity, supporting change-makers as a force for good, and hosting meaningful work in places shaped by their local heritage.

Over two days, policy makers, technologists, designers and creators came together to work on real challenges across the justice system. Drawing directly on frontline insight and lived experience, teams explored how responsible, human-centred AI could be applied in practical ways, building tools designed to support real people, not just systems.

Led by partners including GoodTech Ventures, Catch22 and the Justice AI Unit, the hackathon focused on three critical areas:

• Workforce wellbeing and resilience
• Stronger connections to support in the community
• Embedding lived experience into service design
  

The hackathon brought together technologists, designers, legal thinkers and policy-minded builders to work on real-world challenges facing justice today. From access to legal support and clarity of information, to efficiency, fairness and transparency, teams were encouraged to think beyond theory and towards usable, responsible solutions.

Why Justice, and why now?

Justice systems are under growing strain. Complexity, cost, slow processes and limited access continue to exclude large parts of society from timely and effective legal support. AI, when applied thoughtfully, has the potential to help reduce friction, improving access to information, supporting legal professionals, and enabling better outcomes without compromising accountability.

The hackathon focused on that balance: innovation grounded in public good. Not “AI for AI’s sake”, but technology that meaningfully supports people navigating legal systems, whether citizens, practitioners or institutions.

Why St Andrew Street?

The setting mattered. Hosted in Techspace’s newly opened St Andrew Street building, the hackathon took place in the heart of London’s legal district, a neighbourhood with a long history of shaping policy, justice and reform. It was a fitting backdrop for work focused on modernising the justice system in a way that is fairer, more accessible and more human.

The event was made possible with support from partners including Lovable, Taught by Humans, Ufi VocTech Trust, the Mayor of London, and the Ministry of Justice UK. A sincere thank you to everyone who contributed time, expertise and lived experience across the two days.

Congratulations to the winning team, Pathway AI, who took home Techspace workspace credits to help carry their idea forward and, of course, the celebratory bubbles. Thanks also to David Hinton, Paul Kiggell, Louis Allgood, Emma Williams, and the wider team who helped shape and deliver the programme!

Responsible AI starts with listening.

This hackathon showed what’s possible when insight from the frontline meets thoughtful technology, strong partnerships and the right space to collaborate.