“Lawyers must learn to embrace technology,” reads the headline of this article by the Financial Times, because, “sticking to words is no longer enough.”
The Financial Times article describes the importance of teaching technical skills to lawyers and cites, as its leading example, the practicum course at Georgetown University Law Center. The program provides students with the Neota Logic development platform to build software applications that replicate the thinking and actions of lawyers.
Throughout the course, students are grouped in small teams and work with nonprofit organizations to design and build applications that meet specifications defined by the organizations. Example application types and topics include:
Intake & Assessment Applications that perform triage and expedite service:
– Do you qualify for services from Legal Aid?
– Behind on mortgage? Find out if we can help.
Self-Help Applications for the Public that provide preliminary guidance:
– Which type of legal entity is right for your new venture?
– Do you qualify for paid time-off?
Support-Applications for Professionals that assist with case analysis:
– Does the client appear to be a victim of wage theft?
– Does the client qualify for VA healthcare or disability benefits
The course at Georgetown runs each spring for one semester and students don’t need prior technical training to enroll. The course ends with a spirited “Iron Tech Lawyer” competition, in which student teams present their applications to a panel of judges who select the best based on criteria including effectiveness and creativity. After the course, the applications are deployed to leverage the students’ work and expertise to address real-world legal challenges over and over again.
Neota Logic is proud of its relationship with Georgetown Law and is very pleased to be helping to develop the next generation of technology-savvy legal professionals at Georgetown and other universities worldwide.
For more on Neota Logic’s offerings for academic institutions, contact Kevin Mulcahy, Neota Logic’s Director of Education: mulcahy@neotalogic.com
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