From Hon. Jerome Ellis (Ret.)
72 • Austin, TX • Retired Family Court Judge • Judicial Educator
“Most litigants don’t understand the system. Most judges barely have time to explain it.”
I sat on the bench for over three decades. I’ve seen the best and worst of people—sometimes in the same hearing.
I’ve watched attorneys weaponize procedure like a blunt object. I’ve seen pro se litigants with truth on their side—but no tools to prove it. And I’ve signed orders that kept me up at night because the data just wasn’t there.
Judging isn’t about knowing who’s lying. It’s about navigating incomplete information under impossible timelines. We don’t get the full picture. We get scattered filings, time-constrained hearings, and overloaded calendars.
I retired believing we needed more than just case law. We needed case structure. Data. A way to make court less reactive and more preventive.
When I saw Splitifi for the first time—through a CLE session—I leaned forward. It was the first tech I’d seen that didn’t just digitize dysfunction. It restructured it.
Litigants arrive more prepared. Motion abuse drops. Timelines make sense. Judges finally get signal—not noise.
I now speak to other jurists about what I wish I’d had sooner. Not just for efficiency—but for equity. Because we can’t administer justice if we’re buried under paper and chaos.
Splitifi doesn’t change the law. It changes what we’re able to see. And that, in the courtroom, changes everything.
—Hon. Jerome Ellis (Ret.)
