Know the Code: Programming Resources for Lawyers

Some time ago, we at the Harris County Law Library raised a question: Coding for Lawyers - Novelty or Necessity? We revisited that question a while later in Techno-Legal Practitioners and Lawyers Learning to Code. Now it's time to return to this topic again as the growth of do-it-yourself learning tools has expanded opportunities for lawyers to acquire the skill that some call the new literacy. 

There is no shortage of easily accessible, user-friendly, free or low-cost resources for developing the knowledge you need to call yourself a coder. Support from other aspiring coders is also widely available and finding a tribe of lawyer-programmers who share your goal can be very helpful. Joining local Meetup groups is an excellent way to build and stay connected to a coding community as is participation in networks of fellow lawyers who code, such as Legal Hackers or similar civic tech organizations. But where should a would-be coder begin? For a good introduction to coding, try What is Code? and then dive in using the resources below where you'll find help, advice, and support from others who are self-taught coders, including those who have transitioned to coding as a second career -- or as a career builder -- in later life. 

• Coding for Lawyers
• Lawtomated: Legaltech, Law, & Coding
• La Vie en Code
• Learn to Code With Me

"Techno-Legal" Practitioners and Lawyers Learning to Code

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Several months ago, we at the Harris County Law Library featured a post on Ex Libris Juris called Coding for Lawyers -- Novelty or Necessity?. It explored the arguments for and against lawyers learning to code, recognizing that some basic skills in practical technology are an asset.

At least one law school is beginning to offer coding classes as part of its curriculum. According to a recent New York Times article, Get With the Programming, Georgetown University Law Center offered a computer programming course last semester on an experimental basis. Demand for the course was overwhelming, and five additional courses were added this spring. The professor who teaches the course, Paul Ohm, recognizes that his law students are not going to become programmers, but, he feels, coding skills will help them to be better lawyers. And the trend seems to be catching on.

A course based on the Georgetown model, will soon be offered at the University of New South Wales. Sponsored by Gilbert + Tobin, an Australian corporate law firm, the new course will help develop lawyers into "techo-legal" practitioners as they "learn about the automation of legal tasks and advice, how to design and build legal information systems, and use technology to generate legal documents and create and code user-facing, law-related apps."

As demand for lawyers with software skills increases, expect to see more law schools -- and perhaps law firms -- offer coding classes in the near future.

Coding for Lawyers – Novelty or Necessity?

Should lawyers learn to code? Opinions differ widely. Those in favor, including David Colarusso and V. David Zvenyach, say that lawyers and computer programming are a natural fit. Lawyers are sophisticated information managers who acquire, process, organize and deliver content to meet clients' needs. They analyze, solve problems, and reverse engineer complicated issues. Lawyers have the skills and ability to read detailed instruction manuals, and they’re adept at complex file management.  They deal less in abstractions and more in practice, applying the tools at their disposal to the issues they confront. At the same time, lawyers must be systems thinkers who are skilled at conceptual thinking and able to see linkages between components. All are the traits of a good programmer.

However, despite this overlap in skill sets, encouraging overworked attorneys to dedicate the time and energy that a coding boot camp or do-it-yourself course of study requires is no small recommendation. Coding may be a nice skill to possess, like bilingual fluency or a second advanced degree, but it’s not a necessity, say skeptics like Edward Hartman, and unlike language skills or an MBA, computer programming does nothing to improve a lawyer's ability to provide competent representation, or so the argument goes.

Whichever side of the debate you might support, there's no doubt that technology is significantly changing the practice of law. Whether automating routine office tasks or harvesting evidentiary data from large files, technology has a role to play. Lawyers who have a baseline understanding of technical concepts and who understand how their computers operate will be better prepared to troubleshoot problems and to communicate more knowledgeably with IT staff when those troubleshooting efforts fail.

Our nation's legal documents have been described as the operating system of our country. Understanding how the judiciary and the legislative process work is akin to understanding how the Internet works. The better familiarity one has with these critical systems, the more intuitive they become. If building that kind of intuition is something you seek to accomplish, visit the links below. They are all god places to start your journey

Coding for Lawyers

Hello World! Should Attorneys Learn to Code?

Online Forms Meet Local Document Automation (Cut-and-Paste Coding)