Halle's new LegalTech Lab: The future of justice begins now!

Halle's new LegalTech Lab: The future of justice begins now!

Something is happening in Halle: The Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) has opened a new center for innovative solutions in the justice system with the “LegalTech Lab”. This happened on July 14, 2025 in the presence of the State Minister of Justice Franziska Weidinger and Prof. Dr. Pablo Pirnay-Dummer. The space has quickly established itself as a creative space for researchers, students and practitioners and is intended to build a bridge between legal science and digital technologies. With this project, the MLU is pursuing ambitious goals to advance the digitalization of the judiciary and reduce administrative effort.

The laboratory works on practical projects using the latest digital tools, including artificial intelligence. These include, among other things, a maintenance calculator for childcare in an alternating model and digital solutions for foreclosures. Prof. Dr. Christian Tietje, who supports the project, emphasizes that cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and Finance in Magdeburg plays a particularly important role. These collaborations are intended to help reduce bureaucratic hurdles and promote a modernized justice system.

Diverse projects and a creative space

A prestigious project of the “LegalTech Lab” is the modeling of a completely digital foreclosure process. This initiative shows how serious the MLU is about rethinking the judiciary. An AI-based funding guideline generator is also being developed to help reduce mountains of paper and administrative effort. The goal is clear: to make work in the justice system easier through effective digital solutions and to strengthen the loyalty of talent to the region.

Particular attention is also paid to training the next generation of lawyers. The laboratory offers students the opportunity to use the project as a supplement to their regular studies. In addition, the “Future Legal Education” certificate program was launched to anchor digital competence in the region. The “LegalTech Lab” covers around 200 square meters and is designed as a space for group work and creative exchange.

Creativity and international perspectives

The lab launch space on the MLU campus embodies the creative approach: innovative ideas are to be developed here that can improve everyday legal life in the region. The interactive explorer tool for UNCITRAL documents in particular shows the international ambitions of the project. MLU is positioning itself as a pioneer in the development of innovative LegalTech solutions and would like to gain importance on a global level.

Financing of around 21.5 million euros comes from the EU's Just Transition Fund. This support is of great importance for the implementation of the many ideas and solutions that are being developed as part of MLU's “Just Transition Center”. Prof. Dr. Tietje and his team, including Dr. Konstantin Branovitskiy, Liubov Zazulina, Georgia Könemann and Luzia Ferenschild have set themselves a good goal: ultimately there should be a comprehensive offering at MLU that will have a significant impact on the future of the judiciary.

If you think that's it, you're wrong: with quick results and practical applications, be it spin-offs or collaborations with regional partners, the laboratory will certainly quickly cause a stir. The developments of the next months and years promise to be at least exciting.

For further information about the exciting developments in the “LegalTech Lab” and the goals of MLU, please visit the reporting on HallLife and that Just Transition Center.