The Problem
Low-income Californians per legal aid attorney
Most people who qualify for legal aid still cannot get representation for critical legal needs. Legal services organizations face demand far beyond the capacity their funding and staffing can support.
Expanding access therefore requires more than additional volunteers. It requires better systems for delivering legal services at scale.
Our Approach
The Access Project expands legal services capacity by bringing together three capabilities.
Program design
We design around the needs of clients, legal services professionals, and pro bono volunteers, building programs that fit the realities of legal practice.
Purpose-built technology
We build tools and workflows for high-volume legal work, helping organizations reduce repetitive tasks and extend the reach of their staff.
Pro bono engagement
We create structured opportunities, training, and workflows that allow volunteers to contribute effectively while supporting the legal services organizations leading the work.
Our Platform
Clean Slate Engine
The Clean Slate Engine moves record-clearance cases from RAP sheet to signature-ready petition packet. Remedy analysis runs on computational law, a deterministic and auditable set of legal rules. Packets are customized to the county, remedy, and user. The platform was built with support from the California Access to Justice Commission.
Decoding criminal records
Extracts and structures information from California criminal records (RAP sheets).
Remedy determination
Applies auditable legal rules to determine which forms of relief may be available for each conviction.
Petition preparation
Generates petitions based on the applicable remedy and county filing requirements.
Attorney review
Keeps legal judgment in the process, with attorney review before petitions move forward for filing.
Legal aid organizations, public defenders, and reentry programs can use the Clean Slate Engine within their own workflows, bringing the same record-analysis, remedy, and document-generation infrastructure to their teams.
Alongside the Engine, our Clean Slate Hub makes practical record-clearance resources freely available. It includes an interactive map with filing information for all 58 California counties, a clean slate FAQ, declaration guidance and examples, and step-by-step instructions for obtaining a California RAP sheet.
Where the Model Was Built
Rising Scholars
Starting in 2022, TAP partnered with California's Rising Scholars Network to bring free record-clearance services to justice-impacted community college students across the state. Students could participate remotely, allowing TAP and its pro bono network to serve people regardless of where they attended school or where their convictions occurred.
The program became the proving ground for TAP's model. Each cohort generated lessons about record review, volunteer workflows, client communication, county filing requirements, and petition preparation. Those lessons shaped the systems that ultimately became the Clean Slate Engine and now support other legal organizations.
What students received
- Support obtaining their California criminal record
- Full review of the record and identification of eligible convictions
- Analysis of available record-clearance remedies
- Preparation of petitions, declarations, and supporting documents
- Filing with the court on the student's behalf
Our Impact
Clients served
Clean slate petitions filed
Pro bono hours
California counties with petitions filed
