Turning Eligibility Into Opportunity
Justice doesn’t mean much if only people with money and access can reach it.
Roger Roman, Board Chair
Fresh Start Network was founded on a simple premise: if you're legally eligible to clear your record, the only thing standing between you and relief should be the process — and we can fix the process.
Our Story
Fresh Start Network was born from a question we couldn't stop asking.
The founders of LegalEase, a legal technology company built to simplify access to everyday legal processes, spent years watching people navigate a system that was never designed to include them. We built tools. The tools worked. And still, millions of people who were legally eligible to clear their records weren't doing it.
Not because the technology wasn't good enough. Because the barriers weren't technological.
They were financial. Structural. Institutional. The kind of barriers that a better interface can't fix, that require funding, relationships, physical presence, and a long-term commitment to the communities being left behind.
The economic stakes made it impossible to look away. A criminal record costs an average of $6,000 in lost annual wages. Multiply that across 70 million Americans with records, and the scale of what's being withheld from families and communities becomes staggering. Expungement, where it's pursued, works. The problem is almost no one is pursuing it at scale.
So we stopped asking why no one had built the infrastructure. And we built it.
Fresh Start Network exists to do what technology alone cannot: fund the filings, staff the clinics, build the partnerships, and close the gap between a law on the books and relief in someone's hands.
Why We Exist
The barrier isn’t the law.
It’s cost, complexity, and lack of support.
According to a landmark study published in the Harvard Law Review, fewer than 6.5% of people eligible for expungement complete the process within five years. The reasons are consistent: filing fees, procedural complexity, and no one to help them navigate. Fresh Start Network exists to remove all three.
What We Do
We expand access to expungement by removing financial barriers, bringing help directly to communities, and supporting systems that work.
How We Work
We focus on practical solutions that are scalable, transparent, and built for people, not paperwork.
Our Mission
We envision a future where clearing an eligible record is simple, affordable, and accessible—so people can pursue better jobs, stable housing, education, and a meaningful second chance.
Our Values
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We measure success by how many people complete the process, not how many people hear about it.
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We publish our outcomes. If the numbers aren't moving, we say so
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We believe real change happens at the local level
Leadership
Britton Smith
Executive Director
Britton has spent his career at the intersection of criminal justice reform, political strategy, and community organizing. He previously served as Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships at REFORM Alliance, the organization led by Jay-Z, Robert Smith, Robert Kraft, and Meek Mill, focused on transforming probation and parole law nationwide.
In 2015, Britton served on the White House Task Force on Criminal Justice Reform. The following year, he briefed transition teams for an incoming Presidential Administration. In 2018, he was instrumental in lobbying efforts behind the First Step Act, one of the most significant federal criminal justice bills in a generation.
He has worked with federal lawmakers across eight states and organized Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity's 170,000-member network as their National Political Director. Britton brings to Fresh Start Network something rare: deep relationships on both sides of the aisle, direct experience moving criminal justice legislation at the federal level, and a long track record of turning policy wins into real outcomes for communities.
Call to Action
Expungement changes lives, but only if people can access it. Join us in expanding second chances nationwide.