AI Chatbot LIA Expands Legal Support in North Carolina

A new partnership aims to help residents navigate civil legal issues using 24/7 automated guidance.

Updated on Oct. 27, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Isometric editorial illustration of a modern abstract atrium with minimalist architectural pillars, representing a scalable legal support system. — Legal Aid of North Carolina and K&L Gates expanded their AI-powered chatbot, LIA, to increase legal support access statewide. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Do you believe AI tools like chat bots can effectively bridge the legal assistance gap?

Legal Aid of North Carolina and K&L Gates have partnered to refine LIA, an AI-powered chatbot designed to provide 24/7 legal information on domestic violence, child custody, housing, and consumer issues. The tool offers multilingual support and includes a voice interface for users with visual impairments or literacy challenges.

Why it matters

This initiative aims to address the significant gap in legal representation across North Carolina and the United States, where current demand for services far outpaces the capacity of pro bono and legal aid attorneys. By automating informational guidance, the partnership seeks to scale support for residents navigating complex civil matters.

In North Carolina, 48 counties currently qualify as legal deserts with a ratio of one lawyer for every 1,000 residents. The initiative currently supports individuals earning up to $20,000 annually or families making $41,000.

The players

Legal Aid of North Carolina

A nonprofit organization that provides free legal services to low-income individuals across North Carolina.

K&L Gates

A global law firm providing legal counsel and regulatory support that is actively participating in AI prompt engineering and safety testing.

Legal Innovation Lab

A research and development unit within Legal Aid of North Carolina that creates and maintains civic technology and AI tools.

The details

Users interact with the LIA chatbot by entering inquiries in plain language. K&L Gates lawyers participate by developing and testing prompts while identifying failure modes in the bot's outputs. This process ensures the tool retrieves appropriate source materials and provides clear, actionable guidance. The architecture is designed to support the 25 million people in the U.S. with limited English proficiency and 7 million with vision disabilities.

The partnership for K&L Gates lawyers to test and support the LIA tool is ongoing.

The Tech Race

This project represents a broader effort to mitigate the national legal aid gap by integrating AI into public service infrastructure. It positions legal aid technology as a critical response to the long-standing shortfall in accessible counsel.

Residents in North Carolina can access LIA 24 hours a day for guidance on domestic violence, child custody, housing, and consumer issues. The tool is designed to support individuals who may face literacy challenges or visual impairments through its voice-enabled interface.

The takeaway

The LIA initiative illustrates how law firms are increasingly partnering with nonprofits to automate legal triage for underserved populations. Residents should monitor future updates from the Legal Innovation Lab regarding the tool's planned expansion into additional areas of law.