We are delighted to have been invited to write the foreword for this book; not only because it has been authored by an eminent team of academics working across our specialisms, but because it speaks directly to topics that we believe are vitally important for access to justice scholarship. This book is about understanding the extent to which people were able to access the administrative justice system of England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what their experiences can tell us about the future of access to justice as society moves forward beyond the initial impact of the pandemic. As researchers who both work in the access to justice field, for some time we have been concerned about the extent to which members of the public can access, use and meaningfully participate in justice systems, as well as how they can best be supported to recognize, address and resolve problems for which there are potential legal remedies or consequences. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, we have undertaken various projects together which have been geared towards understanding how this global event – and all of its many ramifications – have impacted people and their relationship with law to date, as well as what the legacy of the pandemic may be for those pursuing access to justice in the future. It is no surprise, therefore, that we were delighted to have the opportunity to engage with the rich and varied evidence on offer in this book, and that we view it as a valuable resource for those working in and around issues of justice.

The book is timely and important in its focus on the notion of digitalized justice and the administrative justice system. In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has marked a seismic shift across all areas of this system; it has forced judges, litigants, lawyers, advice-seekers and advice providers alike to adapt to digital methods of communication, virtual hearings and remote advicegiving. These rapidly accelerated trends towards digitalization were already moving – albeit slowly – in some areas of law, while forcing radical new ways of working on others. While there has been a succession of important reports on the increased digitalization of justice following the pandemic, this is the first book-length treatment of the subject, and the first to draw explicit connections between pre and post-pandemic implications of digital justice.