Sarah Stephens is a qualified solicitor and holds a master's degree in human rights law. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the Institute of Development Studies (University of Sussex). Her research explores the role of technology to increase access to justice for women in Tanzania, and is fully funded by a highly competitive SeNNS scholarship.

Further, she has developed several other justice technology interventions that support justice seekers in the UK and in Tanzania. In recognition of her contributions, she was awarded the Tech4Good-Africa Award (Comic Relief) in 2021, Santander Elevate Grants in 2021 and 2023, and was a Start-Up Sussex Prize winner in 2023.

Sarah Stephens actively shapes the future of legal services as a member of the Online Procedure Rules Committee to which she was appointed by the Lord Chancellor in 2023. In this role, she champions the needs of lay users of the justice system, promoting digital inclusion and user-centered design, while supporting the transition of the civil justice system towards online services. As a trustee of the Access to Justice Foundation she extends her impact beyond academia, advocating for increased justice spending to promote access to justice and social transformation.