Gavel Chosen as Global Legal Hackathon's Official No Code Tech Tool

March 25-27 is the Global Legal Hackathon, the largest legal hackathon in the world. Participants across the globe will use Gavel to build web tools to address legal needs.

Published: Mar 22, 2022 | Last updated: Jul 22, 2025

Introduction to Gavel

Gavel, which has its roots in legal aid, was started by Dorna Moini, a former Sidley Austin attorney who originally wanted to build a tool for domestic violence survivors to access legal support. In December 2017, she launched HelpSelf Legal, a tool for survivors to answer questions, obtain legal information, and generate documents to be filed in their cases. From there, the HelpSelf team discovered that lawyers across the globe wanted to build similar tools for other areas of law and other jurisdictions. So, they built Gavel.

Gavel Features

Gavel, a no-code app builder, enables lawyers to build end-to-end workflows that automate their knowledge without needing to learn to code. Collect information from clients or members of the public, guide them down appropriate paths using complex logic, and generate both documents and decisions at the end of the process. You can insert videos, database integrations, payment at each stage, and everything can be custom branded. With Gavel, lawyers create digital, affordable products that enhance their practice and expand the market to whom they can deliver legal services.

Benefits of Gavel

Finalists and semi-finalists in GLH 2019 and 2020 used Gavel to build their solutions without needing a software engineer on their teams. Gavel also makes its software available for free through the Legal Tech for a Change program, and it partners with schools, courts, and other legal groups to provide access to the powerful software, along with materials and training.

Global Legal Hackathon 2022

GLH2022 starts on Friday, March 25th, and the final presentations will be on Sunday, March 27th. GLH is thrilled to have Gavel available for participants to reduce the barrier to entry for those without technical expertise and speed up the prototyping process for everyone.

Contact Information

• GLH CONTACT: Kearra Markowich, Executive Director, kearra@globallegalhackathon.com
• Gavel CONTACT: Dorna Moini, CEO, hello@gavel.io

About Global Legal Hackathon

The Global Legal Hackathon is a free event with options to participate around the world, as well as virtually. GLH launched in early December of 2017, and within a mere two and a half months it raised global attention with host locations in 40 cities across 22 countries.

Email hello@gavel.op to use Gavel for free as part of the Global Legal Hackathon.

About Gavel

Gavel is a no-code platform for creating automated legal apps. On Gavel, you can build legal products (think: a "TurboTax" for any area of law). Lawyers, non-profits, and courts in 23 countries use Gavel to build legal applications.