**STUB ARTICLE - WORKING ON THIS AS I FIND MYSELF GETTING INVOLVED WITH MORE LEGAL HACKATHONS**
This is a list of tools that could be used in legal hackathons with some ideas about what they could be used for. Not everyone that shows up at a legal hackathon is a programmer and even if they are, the time constraints often limit the size of the projects that you can complete (or even get a reasonable start) in the time given.
People who attend Hackathons (especially first-timers) want to see RESULTS and that means working at a higher levels of abstractions, starting with pre-built frameworks or re-framing the problem space so that the solution is within the capabilities of the attendees.
Not all hacking is programming. You can hack video, audio, text, etc. that create
- design hacks - better ways to view/understand existing data
- education hacks - better ways to explain/illustrate complex information
- message hacking - betters ways to communicate small amounts of information including photos
- geo-hacks - hacks based on maps or that are highly location dependent.
- - room for more ideas on this list...
Not all of the tools mentioned below are free to deploy your app, but most are free to use for a trial period. In this case, hacking = prototyping/proof of concept. If what is built is worthy, you can decide whether to pay the subscription or re-purpose in another tool. Do not underestimate the value of prototyping. There are a LOT of good ideas that when you actually see them built, you realize they won't work IRL.
I have not used very many of these tools myself and so I do not have an opinion on their suitability for hackathons, legal projects or anything. Given the variabiity of possible ideas, even if I was familiar with the tool, it would be hard to give an opinion.
Do not let this turn into an analysis/paralysis problem where you spend all your time trying to find the best tool. Define the problem, pick a tool that looks reasonably capable and jump in. If you find you have made the wrong choice - start over or persist to create something as best as you can given the constraints of the tool. This is part of the fun, frustration and the education of hacking.
With all that in mind, here are some example tools.
A2j-Author - of course, this is at the top of my list since it's a project I work on. A2J-Author Guided Interviews can be created by non-programmers that ask questions, elicit answers and either create forms or reports or guide the user to another web page (e.g. like a reference interview or triage session). The link leads to the downloadable version of A2J-Author that is Windows only and uses Adobe Flash to run. The version on this website is the new HTML/Jquery version that will work with any OS (Mac or PC) and will have document assembly capabilities and a mobile viewer in the coming months (Sorry, not yet).
Mozilla Popcorn Maker- inspired by this article about student projects. MPM projects could be a form of video hacks where existing video is mined from YouTube and Vimeo to explain/illustrate legal concepts.
Titanium - this is a mobile app platform/framework. It's general purpose and can be quickly learned. Here is a doc explaining Titanium's mobile web app concepts.
Knack - mobile web app database tool. Uses REST API to connect to data that is somewhere else.
Appery.io - mobile web app development platform. This is pretty extensive, but free to start.
Codiqa - build Jquery apps.
Como - template-based app development and app process management.
ARTICLES ABOUT MOBILE/WEB APP PLATFORMS
Build Your Own Web or Mobile App In Minutes With These Cloud Based Tools
Handy code-free mobile app development resources for small businesses
ARTICLES ABOUT HACKATHONS
How to plan a successful hackathon
How to Rock your first Hackathon: Tools and Resources
What’s in Your Hackathon Toolbox?
Tools for Startup Weekend ( Or Hackathon )