Goal: Develop community models and technology tools to improve access to justice for veterans and those who aim to support them.

Tech for Justice Hackathon+ Veterans will bring together Nonprofit Advocates, Legal Aid Organizations, Private Lawyers, Technologists, Students, Educators, Counselors, Activists, Businesses, Entrepreneurs, Public Housing Officials, State and City Representatives, Judges, and more, to come up with innovative and transparent solutions, supporting technologies, and plans for implementation with initiative collaborators and partners.

Who you we helping:

  • Veterans who need legal support and other resource help for problems such as lack of benefits, housing & homelessness, psychological problems, domestic violence, employment, criminal justice and more.
  • Legal Aid offices that aim to provide free legal help to veterans, but are overburdened by expensive and time consuming processes.
  • Advocates who aim to find new ways to support veterans.

When: Please visit techforjustice.org/veterans-hackathon for more info. 

Where: There are 3 ways to attend.

  1. Hilton Chicago – Salon B, 720 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60605
  2. Station Houston, 1301 Fannin Street Suite 2440 Houston, TX 77002
  3. Virtual option as well

Eligibility

  • Participants: Individuals (over 14 years in age),Teams & Organizations (up to 100 employees)
  • Countries: United States

Requirements

  • Submissions should be based on the veteran's problem set, but if your project idea helps veterans and those that support them then feel free to post it. 
  • When submitting your project, please include Project Name, Description, link to the working prototype, link to the Github repository and a 3-5 minute Presentation Video to be considered for judging(which includes a demo). 
  • A project development plan must also be submitted, which includes: target user market, possible stakeholders, a marketing plan, milestones for development, and required tech, content, and legal resources. 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$10,000 in prizes

First Place

The 1st place team receives a $5,500.00 cash prize.

Second Place

The 2nd place team receives a $2,500.00 cash prize.

Third Place

The 3rd place team receives a $1,500.00 cash prize.

Fourth Place

The 4th place team receives a $500.00 cash prize.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

How to enter

To register, post a project idea(not a submission),read our problem set, look at hackathon resources, view the agenda, and to join the conversation visit techforjustice.org/veterans-hackathon. 

Judges

Thomas Leighton

Thomas Leighton
Vice President @ Thomson Reuters

Judy Perry Martinez

Judy Perry Martinez
Chair of the ABA Presidential Commission on the Future of Legal Services

Glenn Rawdon

Glenn Rawdon
Program Counsel @ Legal Services Corporation

Jordan Webb

Jordan Webb
Senior Engineer @ GitHub Enterprise

Jeff Reichman

Jeff Reichman
Principal @ January Advisors

Sarah Rigdon

Sarah Rigdon
Organizer @ Women in Tech Houston, Independent Content Strategist

Nicole Bradick

Nicole Bradick
Chief Strategy Officer @ CuroLegal

Abhijeet Chavan

Abhijeet Chavan
Chief Technology Officer @ Urban Insight

Judging Criteria

  • Usefulness
    How useful is the tool to the veteran community? How well does this solution address the target problem?
  • Completion
    How close to “product” or "completion" has the hack been over the time period allotted to the team? Was the amount of work done during the hackathon significant?
  • Uniqueness
    Given the constraints of the hackathon, how unique & interesting is the idea?
  • Presentation
    Was the purpose of the tool adequately conveyed during the presentation of the prototype?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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Hackathon sponsors

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