ABOUT
About SHIELD Legal
Students Helping Inform, Educate, Learn, and Defend. A student-led platform dedicated to making legal knowledge accessible to everyone.
OUR MISSION
Our Mission
Legal literacy is one of the most consequential gaps in American civic education. Every person, regardless of income, background, or circumstance, interacts with the legal system throughout their life. They sign contracts, face evictions, encounter police, navigate employment disputes, and engage with government institutions that have enormous power over their daily existence. Yet the vast majority of Americans receive no formal instruction in how any of these systems work or what rights they have within them.
SHIELD Legal exists to change that. We believe that legal knowledge is a public good. Something that should be freely available and genuinely accessible to every person who wants it, not locked behind expensive legal consultations or written in language only specialists can understand. Our mission is to advance legal literacy, civic education, and public understanding of the law, one community at a time.
We are not a law firm. We do not provide legal advice. What we provide is something different, and in many ways more foundational: the legal education that helps people understand when they have a problem, what their rights are, and when to seek help. We believe that informed communities are stronger communities. Access to legal knowledge is, ultimately, a civil rights issue.
WHAT WE DO
What We Do
Legal Education
Creating accessible explainers, guides, and reference materials that translate complex legal language into plain English. Free for anyone who wants to learn.
Community Outreach
Bringing legal literacy to high schools, community organizations, and underserved populations who need legal knowledge the most but have the least access to it.
Research
Collaborating with law school faculty and legal scholars to ensure every piece of content we publish is accurate, well-sourced, and reflects current law.
Public Writing
Publishing analysis and commentary on legal topics affecting everyday people: access to justice, civil rights, constitutional law, and the places where law meets daily life.
WHO WE SERVE
Who We Serve
SHIELD Legal is built for anyone who wants to understand the law that affects their life. Our content is designed to be accessible regardless of educational background or prior legal knowledge.
THE TEAM
Our Founders
Saurish Gottipati
Co-Founder · South Forsyth High School, Cumming, GA
Saurish is a junior at South Forsyth High School in Cumming, Georgia. He serves as a research intern at the University of Georgia School of Law under Prof. Tim Samples, and at Georgetown University Law Center under Prof. Kevin Tobia, where he is contributing to a forthcoming book on Experimental Jurisprudence. That is the field that applies empirical methods to questions about legal language and reasoning.
He also works as a research collaborator at the University of Southern California and the UGA Terry College of Business, focusing on questions at the intersection of law, business, and civic institutions. A SkillsUSA State Champion, Saurish brings a research-oriented, evidence-based approach to legal education content.
His primary focus areas at SHIELD Legal include constitutional law, criminal procedure, legal literacy pedagogy, and the access-to-justice gap.
Armaan Keswani
Co-Founder · Denmark High School, Alpharetta, GA
Armaan is a junior at Denmark High School in Alpharetta, Georgia. He is a researcher at Georgetown University Law Center and the UGA Terry College of Business, and a member of the UGA Business Program. He also brings hands-on industry experience as a FinTech intern at NeoFinance.
His research interests center on legal finance, access-to-justice policy, and the structural barriers that prevent low- and middle-income communities from accessing effective legal representation. He is particularly focused on how economic systems shape who can meaningfully participate in the legal process.
At SHIELD Legal, Armaan leads content development around housing law, employment rights, consumer protection, and legal finance topics.
ADVISORS
Faculty & Advisors
SHIELD Legal works with faculty advisors at multiple universities to ensure the accuracy and quality of our legal education content. Our research collaborations span the University of Georgia School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, the University of Southern California, and the UGA Terry College of Business. Full advisor profiles and acknowledgments are coming soon.
ETHICS & DISCLAIMER
Our Commitment to Accuracy and Ethics
SHIELD Legal is dedicated to providing accurate, up-to-date legal education. However, legal information changes over time and varies by jurisdiction. Nothing on this platform constitutes legal advice. For advice on your specific legal situation, please consult a licensed attorney in your state. SHIELD Legal does not create an attorney-client relationship with any user. Our content is reviewed with care, but users should always verify current law with a qualified professional before acting on any legal information.