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Harriet Ainsworth-Smith
Ministry of Justice, United Kingdom
Head of Digital Justice Policy
Biography
Harriet has spent 15 years working in the Ministry of Justice in the UK, focusing on the court and tribunal service. She has extensive experience in an operational delivery setting, working closely with judiciary and staff to deliver service improvements, such as the first use of video link software within the UK criminal courts. She since moved on to work on His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service reform programme that oversaw millions of pounds investment in new digital infrastructure for the courts, leading on engagement with the legal profession and judiciary of the reforms.
Since 2020, Harriet has been working in policy roles, including working with the judiciary and advising ministers on measures to maintain the fundamental principle of open justice within the UK legal system, that justice should be seen to be done, during the pandemic. Harriet now oversees a team of policy and service design professionals taking a ‘whole system’ approach for people facing legal problems in relation to civil, family and tribunal matters. She is also head of policy for the Online Procedure Rule Committee – the UK's first cross-jurisdictional rule committee, chaired by the Master of the Rolls, the judicial head of civil justice – who are committed to advancing access to justice through their rule making.
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