Laymans for Law and Pre-Law Students
Law school teaches you to think like a lawyer. Laymans shows you what laypeople actually face.
Most legal education focuses on doctrine, theory, and professional practice. But if you're interested in access to justice, public interest law, or legal technology, you need to understand what it's like on the other side - the people trying to navigate the system without a lawyer.
Guided Workflows
- Legal Research - Practice research skills with real tools
- Educator Guide - Create educational content as a learning project
Why Use Laymans as a Student?
| What law school teaches | What Laymans adds |
|---|---|
| Legal research on Westlaw/LexisNexis | What free public resources actually exist |
| How attorneys draft motions | How pro se litigants struggle with forms |
| Civil procedure rules | What happens when someone doesn't know the rules |
| Professional responsibility | The gap between legal needs and available services |
Understanding both sides makes you a better advocate - whether you end up representing clients, building legal tech, or working in policy.
What You Can Do on Laymans
1. See How Laypeople Use Legal Tools
Browse the platform as a user would:
- Look at how casefiles are organized
- See what questions people ask in seminar discussions
- Understand what information gaps exist
- Notice where people get stuck
This perspective is hard to get from casebooks.
2. Build Educational Content
Creating seminars is a practical way to:
- Synthesize what you're learning in class
- Translate legal concepts into plain language
- Build a portfolio of public interest work
- Practice explaining law to non-lawyers
Example: Turn a class project into a seminar
Say you're taking Civil Procedure. Instead of just writing a paper, you could:
- Create casefiles explaining key procedural concepts in plain language
- Build templates for common motions in your jurisdiction
- Organize them into a seminar: "Civil Procedure Basics for Self-Represented Litigants"
- Get feedback from real users in the discussion forum
You learn the material better by teaching it, and you create something useful.
How to start: Create a Casefile | How to Create a Seminar
3. Practice Legal Research
Laymans integrates with public records and court data:
- UniCourt integration for case lookups
- Public records research tools
- Document organization systems
Practice research skills with tools that don't require expensive subscriptions.
How to start: Conducting Your First Search
4. Join or Support Movements
Movements on Laymans organize people around legal issues - class actions, policy advocacy, collective legal problems. As a student, you can:
- See how legal organizing actually works
- Contribute research or educational content
- Understand the gap between individual cases and systemic issues
Learn more: How Movements Work
Clinical Program Integration
If your school has a clinic or externship program, Laymans can support it:
For Clinic Directors
- Use private seminars for student training materials
- Organize client resources in briefcases
- Track student completion of educational modules
For Students in Clinics
- Learn the platform your clients might use
- Create resources that help clinic clients after representation ends
- Understand self-help materials from the user perspective
Example Uses
| Clinic Type | How Laymans Fits |
|---|---|
| Housing clinic | Create tenant rights seminars for your jurisdiction |
| Family law clinic | Build self-help guides for unrepresented parties |
| Consumer clinic | Develop debt collection defense resources |
| Immigration clinic | Organize multilingual educational materials |
Pre-Law Students
Not in law school yet? Laymans can help you:
Explore Whether Law is Right for You
- See what legal problems regular people actually face
- Understand the gap between legal needs and available help
- Get a realistic view of access-to-justice issues
Build Relevant Experience
- Create educational content in areas you're interested in
- Develop plain-language legal writing skills
- Show admissions committees you understand the profession's challenges
Learn the Basics
Complete seminars on legal topics to:
- Build foundational knowledge before law school
- Understand court procedures and legal concepts
- See how legal information is (and isn't) accessible to laypeople
Building Your Portfolio
Work on Laymans can demonstrate:
| Skill | How Laymans Shows It |
|---|---|
| Plain-language writing | Seminars you've created |
| Legal research | Casefiles with proper sourcing |
| Public interest commitment | Contribution to free educational resources |
| Technology literacy | Familiarity with legal tech tools |
| Teaching ability | Effective educational content |
For public interest employers, legal tech companies, or academic positions - showing you understand both sides of the access-to-justice gap is valuable.
Getting Started
| Step | What to Do | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create an account | Start Registration |
| 2 | Browse existing seminars | See what content already exists |
| 3 | Try the research tools | Conducting Your First Search |
| 4 | Create your first casefile | Create a Casefile |
| 5 | Build a seminar from class material | How to Create a Seminar |
Opportunities
Laymans works with law schools on clinical education, legal research, and public interest technology projects.
- Students: Check opportunities at laymans.app
- Professors/administrators: Contact hello@laymans.app
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get academic credit for work on Laymans?
That depends on your school. Some options:
- Independent study projects creating educational content
- Clinic integration with your school's pro bono requirements
- Externship placements (contact us about institutional partnerships)
Talk to your clinic director or academic advisor about possibilities.
Do I need to be a lawyer to create content?
No. Anyone can create educational content. For legal topics, focus on:
- Explaining publicly available information
- Providing procedural guidance (how to file, where to go)
- Sharing resources and links to official sources
Don't give legal advice on specific situations - that's for lawyers.
How is this different from doing pro bono work?
Traditional pro bono means representing individual clients. Laymans lets you create resources that help many people:
- One seminar can reach thousands
- Educational content scales in ways individual representation can't
- You're not practicing law - you're sharing information
Both are valuable. This is a different approach to the same access-to-justice problem.
I'm interested in legal tech. Is this relevant?
Yes. Laymans is an example of legal technology designed for laypeople rather than lawyers. Understanding:
- How non-lawyers interact with legal information
- What features actually help people navigate the system
- Where technology helps and where it falls short
These insights are valuable if you're interested in building or working with legal technology.
The legal profession talks a lot about the access-to-justice gap. This is a chance to see it up close.