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Learning new tech an ‘opportunity to become leaders’, expert says
There is a unique opportunity for all lawyers, but especially the next generation of legal professionals, to adapt to the ways new technologies are shaping the law. In a discussion with Protégé, a Melbourne Law School professor shares how staying on top of the new digital trends could be a huge advantage in the workplace.
Naomi Neilson
With almost all aspects of the legal profession touched in some way by new digital technologies like AI, Melbourne Law School Professor Jeannie Paterson said it is really important that law students and graduates are gaining the best tech expertise and experience “regardless of where they go after completing their law degrees”.
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“This is an emerging area and I think there’s space for lawyers starting their career to showcase themselves by making sure they’re not scared of the technology,” Professor Paterson shared on the most recent episode of The Protégé Podcast.
“It can be really good for lawyers starting their careers to be prepared, to engage with technologies so that they can perhaps take a leadership role in that space or at least forge a unique path for themselves. I think that there’s a real opportunity [to do this now because] in some years it will become an inevitability.”
As such, it is critical that lawyers of all levels are aware of the debates, discussions and accepted new ways of working – at least enough to “engage critically” throughout their careers. Professor Paterson said that this is already happening from the news that they are reading through to the subjects that they study, so any additional learning could only further set up a new lawyer’s emerging career.
“I think it’s really important for students to keep their eyes open on what’s happening in society in general and are not just focused, dare I say, on their law books. One of the great things about digital technology from a student’s perspective is it’s just about any field you’re interested in will have a technological intrusion or aspect to it,” Professor Paterson shared.
When asked whether law students should be looking into technology that doesn’t necessarily relate to their subject area, Professor Paterson said that while she would have ordinarily said it depends on their field, “I don’t think that’s true [anymore]”.
“I recently taught a class where people said ‘maybe family law’s an area where technology won’t have an impact’. And in fact, there’s already a tool on the market that has been funded, I think, by the South Australian Legal Services Commission and others. It uses machine learning to help couples work out how they distribute their assets when they’re breaking up,” Professor Paterson commented.
Digital technologies, Professor Paterson added, will be relevant in all areas of law at some point. To prepare for this, she said there is a lot of material out there that new lawyers can learn from, “but that doesn’t mean they need to go out and learn how to code”. Simply, she recommends investigating the technology enough to have an understanding of how it works and how to apply it with their own critical legal skills.
“The trend I have seen is young lawyers who do have a little bit of technology experience – so they’ve done a subject where they’ve built apps for not-for-profits or they’ve done subjects that allowed them to become experts in their practice groups – [who are standouts]. Without wanting to denigrate my own generation, we’re not necessarily people who’ve grown up with technology… so there’s real potential for somebody who is starting out in their careers to take a leadership role,” Professor Paterson said.
