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Coding course to grant new lawyers competitive edge
An Adelaide university is offering a six-month course to refine coding skills to allow the next generation of lawyers to develop a competitive edge in their chosen practices.
Naomi Neilson
By the time young and studying lawyers are running their own practices and managing teams, the current technology will be the norm and the competitive edge will be all but obsolete. One South Australia university has found a solution to ensure their students can stand out to new clients and in their chosen speciality areas.
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Over a six-month course, Flinders University will be equipping lawyers and any social justice professionals with the skills to develop their own applications that benefit clients and make an impact on the way courts and firms address complex legal issues.
Coordinator Mark Ferraretto commented on the course: “In what I’m sure is a surprise to most people, it is possible to acquire adequate coding skills for developing a useful application in a relatively short time. Our experience is that we have been able to teach law students useful coding skills over a single 12-week semester.
“We have students across all ranges, with the only commonality their complete lack of coding skills and knowledge. Nonetheless, all successfully developed applications,” he said.
The new course offers students an essential coding skill set that assists them with their own application developments to improve the community’s access to justice.
Mr Ferraretto said learning basic coding skills not only enables lawyers to create apps to improve business practice or access to justice, but also ensures that these students understand opportunities presented by technology to enhance their practice areas.
For example, a SACAT Homelessness Advisor app for the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal assists tenants to find emergency accommodation. It is one of the apps offering value that “exceeds the effort put into its production”.
“SACAT can now provide quick and tailored advice to tenants who are facing daunting prospects of homelessness – cutting through bureaucracy and giving tenants an easy way to access the information they need in a difficult time,” Mr Ferraretto said.
