The legal industry is undergoing an era of transformation and change today worldwide, and these advancements are unmistakable and different. Now, data management and paperwork which has been long practiced by lawyers is being replaced by software solutions; trans-national boundaries are legal. Today the situation in the courtroom or meeting with a lawyer has changed with evidence popping up on screens in front of the jury or holding meetings with a lawyer via video conference has become the natural course of action. Also, the court documents that used to be stored in file cabinets or boxes are on the cloud.
With technology advances in the practice of law that are changing at an unprecedented rate law schools and colleges are also planning their curriculum accordingly. Similar is the situation for Long Island colleges and universities who are adjusting their programs to make the more than 1,300 law students Islandwide ready for what is next to come.
Hofstra University has built a high-tech mock courtroom offering the students iPads on which they can store their legal arguments, evidence, and other court files. Students at the Touro Law Center are educating themselves on how to use artificial intelligence for electronic discovery, creating algorithms to find and recover digital data. According to experts today technology is revolutionizing and changing the practice of law with every passing day, and more companies and law firms are utilizing technology more and more to become more streamlined to save time and costs.
Technology also is assisting in expanding the exceptional access to legal services for those who cannot afford it — both those of modest means, as well as those who live below the poverty line.
Hofstra in early October introduced their first one-day clean tech boot camp for students, making them understand the role of technology in law and the techniques needed in the workplace, as technology is being implemented in every organization. The event touched on e-discovery, e-billing, e-filing, cybersecurity, e-research and the usage of artificial intelligence and how it is enhancing legal services.
In another example, a Hempstead-based, 853-student law school is in plans to provide a boot camp once again the coming year and hopes to open its door to the community, including law professionals who are eager to develop their knowledge in the same. They are trying to provide students with an opportunity to explore not just where the practice of law is now, but where it is headed towards and the new transformations. The various colleges and schools are offering students the opportunities to see in the future and take their professional lives to a complete new life by utilizing this knowledge.
