About me

Hi, I’m Sarah Stephens an award-winning lawyer, academic and international development practitioner.

I am passionate about the transformative power of people, markets, and technology to drive empowerment and accelerate solutions to challenges in the justice sector and across society.

My work experience spans more than 2 decades shaping access to justice, public policy, and operations, working internationally across sectors with a focus on social transformation and innovation.

Disrupting inequality through change and innovation is a constant driver of my work. From my early days as a commercial lawyer when I set up the pro-bono clinic at a top-ten City law firm, to building capacity with a grassroots legal advice centre in East Africa, to more recently developing justice-tech tools to transform justice service delivery. I have demonstrated impact by removing barriers to justice, particularly for marginalised and vulnerable populations.

Through leading international teams, I have demonstrated organisational leadership, business acumen and integrity in building organisations that combine profit with purpose. Most recently I have demonstrated this through my work as a consultant with various United Nations agencies leveraging digital transformation for social development in low- and middle-income countries. I have written and researched widely on this topic and am completing a doctorate in justice technology alongside building online justice tools.

Alongside running my own consultancy, I teach legal technology at the University of Sussex. In the UK I support justice innovation to promote access to justice where I serve on expert panels and advisory boards, notably for the Online Procedure Rules Committee at the Ministry of Justice and as a Trustee at the Access to Justice Foundation.

Awards