"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.

Tech4Justice Hackathon + Veterans - Houston and Chicago, March 11-17

Tech For Justice, an initiative of the InternetBar.org Institute, is hosting a hackathon for veterans. It will kick off in Houston this weekend and continue at the ABA Techshow in Chicago. The event will wrap up in Houston on March 17th, when $10,000 in prizes will be awarded for the best proposals.

What is a hackathon?

A hackathon is a collaborative event that takes place over several days. Hackathons draw people together from a wide variety of backgrounds to solve a specific set of problems. Those who work in technology, research, legal aid, social services, government, business, education, advocacy, the justice system, civic organizations, urban planning, public health, or any number of other fields all have a role to play.

What is the goal of a hackathon?

Ultimately, the goal of a hackathon is to solve problems, often social or civic in nature, by pooling intellectual resources and drawing on the expertise of peers. Hackathon participants create apps, games, or other tech tools that address specific issues. They may also develop new models for using existing technology, such as social media or mobile devices, in original ways.

Who benefits from the outcome?

The Tech For Justice Hackathon is targeted at helping veterans address the challenges they face upon returning to civilian life. Participants will work in small teams to develop tech-based tools for facilitating reintegration, treating PTSD, overcoming homelessness, and addressing a variety of legal, financial, and mental health needs. Although Legal Aid offices offer programs for veterans, they are overburdened and unable to meet the overwhelming demand for their services. Innovative solutions are needed to meet veterans' needs where traditional channels are failing. The Tech For Justice Hackathon will produce real, viable solutions to the problems that veterans of every generation experience post-deployment.

How can people get involved?

Anyone can sign up to be involved in the hackathon happening March 11th-17th, whether you are an attorney, a veteran yourself or close to one, or simply feel passionate about veteran affairs.

Preview: ABA Techshow 2017

The ABA Techshow 2017: Conference & Expo will kick off on March 15th in Chicago. The three days that follow will be packed with programs and presentations -- even a hackathon! -- that run the gamut of all things legal tech: cybersecurity, e-discovery, artificial intelligence, automation, mobile apps, the blockchain, and so much more.

Legal innovation and the business of law will take center stage as a panel of keynote speakers, representing the biggest names in legal disruption, assemble for a wide-ranging, open discussion. They will explore the conflict and compatibility of the legal profession's foundational values and the potential opportunities of using technology to benefit attorneys and clients.

Collect and Curate Content with Read It Later Apps

How do you save online content for later retrieval? Do you bookmark the webpage or article that you plan to visit or read again? Bookmarks are good tools for maintaining a directory of frequently accessed websites within your browser, but when you bookmark a page, you are simply creating an anchor, a digital marker for each site you visit on a regular basis. This can be a useful tool indeed, but it offers no value-added features such as tagging, note-taking, or highlighting. Instead, try using a "read it later" app or browser extension such as Pocket, Instapaper, or GoogleKeep. All three offer additional features that browser bookmarks do not. For a good review of three of the most popular apps, see this article in PC World.

In addition to Pocket and Instapaper referenced above, PC World also mentions Facebook Save, a read it later tool built right into the popular social media platform, which allows you store content, discovered via your Facebook newsfeed, for access at a later date. All of these tools are useful, and each has features that provide an advantage over the others. Compare what each has to offer, and decide for yourself which application works best for you!

National African American History Month: Justice Thurgood Marshall Digital Exhibit

In 1925, the historian, Carter G. Woodson, called for a week-long celebration to recognize the contributions of African Americans in the development of our country. Negro History Week was celebrated for the first time 1926 and expanded to a full month in 1976, the year of our nation's sesquicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

Many notable African Americans have played a role in shaping the law and achieving civil rights. With this exhibit, we honor perhaps the most influential African American lawyer in U.S. history and the first African American to rise to the bench of the U.S. Supreme Court -- Justice Thurgood Marshall.   

An exhibit commemorating the extraordinary life of Justice Marshall, will be on display in the Law Library lobby throughout the month, and a digital exhibit, the subject of today's Tech Tuesday blog post, is available on the Law Library's website. For additional digital resources celebrating African American history and the remarkable life of Justice Thurgood Marshall, please visit the following sites:

Biography.com -- Thurgood Marshall: A Justice for All (VIDEO)

Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture