Just over one year ago, Zach Zarnow joined Scale Justice as Executive Director, bringing with him a deep commitment to expanding access to justice and a vision for how technology can help make the law more accessible to everyone. Over the past year, Zach has helped lead Scale Justice through a period of growth and change—including our rebrand from Pro Bono Net to Scale Justice—while deepening partnerships across the access to justice community and looking toward what’s next.
To mark his first year with the organization, our intern, Maddy Andrews, sat down with Zach for a conversation about his first-year reflections, the impact of Scale Justice’s work, the challenges and opportunities facing the access to justice field, and what gives him hope for the future. He also shared what keeps him energized outside of work.
After one year as Executive Director at Scale Justice, what has surprised you the most about our organization, our impact, or the communities we serve?
Before I took the job I did a lot of research, I talked to partners and former employees and leaders in the field, lots of folks, just to try to get their impression, and I learned a lot. What I heard over and over again was about the breadth of the work. But, it wasn’t until I started here and really got my hands dirty that I realized how much we do. There are relationships and projects that span decades, there are tools and products that might not get a breathless Linkedin post every few months, but which help literally millions of people and are critical access to justice infrastructure. So, what surprised me, even knowing some of that, is just how much of an impact Scale Justice makes and just how deeply embedded we are as a partner in so many communities.
Looking back on your first year, what accomplishments or milestones are you most proud of?
There’s a lot that I’m proud of achieving over my first year at Scale Justice, but what I’m actually most proud of is that what we achieved, we achieved as a team. And, to be concrete about it, we did a total rebrand and name change, we internally did some restructuring to better refine our services as well as some internal stuff around new processes to better manage our work and we’ve done a lot of outreach to build new relationships throughout the field. And I’m really excited because we’re on the right trajectory. We’re working hard on our next generation platforms, on continuing to master safe and responsible AI usage, and we’ve received a few bigger grants and kicked off some exciting new projects, all of which I’m also really proud of. We’re going in the right direction.
What have you learned from our staff, partners, or communities we serve that has shaped your leadership approach over the last year?
We don’t work on the easy stuff. We work to solve hard problems and to help people navigating hard problems. That takes a lot of energy, effort, and willingness to keep fighting, even when change looks, maybe not impossible, but so incremental it can be disheartening because it takes so long and doesn’t feel like you’re moving fast enough. But, what I’ve learned from our staff, partners and the communities we serve is that it’s worth it. What we do really matters. The team at Scale Justice puts in long hours and works so hard because they know that, and our partners are our partners because they know that. And, as a leader, my job is to respect that, and that means listening a lot. We’ve made some changes, and there’s some more coming, and coming in new to an organization with such a rich history requires me to really take some time, really learn, and then you push a little bit where it’s needed.
What challenges has the organization faced in the last year, and how has Scale Justice adapted in response?
Right now isn’t the easiest of times. What we do is more needed than ever, but at the same time, the broader environment and funding and other things have shifted in ways that can make it harder to do the work. So we’re going to approach this the only way we can and I think the only way we should; we continue to live our values and we have no plans to stop doing this work. And that really resonates with a lot of the organizations and the people we work with. We’re in this together. In some ways I think that is the most important thing, to just keep doing what we do. We aren’t going to stop helping, we aren’t going to stop working for our communities to solve the problems they experience, and we’re not going to stop trying to bring the power of the law to all. As they say, ‘the only way out is through.’ We’re going to keep going.
What gives you hope about the future of equal justice at the moment?
There are two really exciting trends in the access to justice space right now, at least, two that I can think of, and Scale Justice is a part of both. First is the incredible technological advancement brought about by AI. I’m still very mindful of the risks and potential for harm if we use that stuff improperly, and the need to really interrogate those uses and do those cost-benefit analyses, but the ability to prototype and speed up coding and add in new features, once they’re tested and validated, is a real inflection point and opens up a whole new frontier of what’s possible. The second trend that excites me at the moment is the growing community justice worker movement and this national moment as state after state recognizes the value of allowing the legal profession to look a little bit more like the medical one. There are different types of service providers who can be trained and licensed and work at the top of those licenses to make it much easier for people to get help and for legal advice to come from more professionals and to reach more communities. Those two trends give me a lot of hope right now.
As you look ahead, what opportunities or goals are you most excited about, and how can our supporters help advance that vision?
Don’t be a stranger. If you’d like to get in the fight, reach out. If you’re already a supporter, recruit your friends, tell them about our work. We need coalitions and partners and boosters to make this happen, and we’re on a great path. We have our next generation of platforms in the work, we have projects underway and grants coming in and we’re poised to do more, so now is the time. Join up.
Outside of Scale Justice’s Mission, what has kept you energized this year?
My wife, my friends and family, and exercise. My wife and I recently celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary, which is wild. It feels like we just met. She is also an access to justice scholar and researcher, so having her as a sounding board is an incredible advantage. But, getting outside, going for hikes, spending time in my basement gym that I’ve been building out since COVID, to burn off frustration and recharge. Those are some of the things that keep me going outside of work.
As Zach reflects on his first year at Scale Justice, one thing is clear: he sees tremendous opportunity ahead. From harnessing new technologies responsibly to building stronger partnerships and expanding access to justice, Scale Justice is focused on finding new ways to help more people navigate the law and access the support they need. We’re grateful to have Zach’s leadership as we continue building on more than 25 years of work and looking toward the next generation of access to justice innovation. As Zach put it, “We’re going to keep going.” And we hope you’ll join us.
Thank you so much to Zach Zarnow for taking the time to be interviewed. We are lucky to have you leading Scale Justice. And thank you to Maddy Andrews for conducting this interview.
