The ‘Digitally Capable’ Lawyer – Preparing the future generation

Matthew Carl Senior Library Manager The University of Law

The Covid-19 pandemic has ushered in significant digital transformation across the legal and legal education sectors. Dispersed working, deeper online collaboration, further integration of AI and virtual meetings are just a few examples of how law firms and legal education providers have had to pivot to meet the demands of an increasingly digitised world. The wider economy in the UK has also seen a shift to the deployment of automation and AI, with e-commerce rising in 2020 by 4.5x the average for the years 20152019. Additionally, the way solicitors in the UK qualify is radically changing, with the introduction of the Solicitor’s Qualifying Exam (SQE) for the first time this year. This development brings with it a range of considerations for legal training providers and law firms, including how the SQE’s ‘standardised approach’ imparts the necessary skills for graduates to succeed within the modern law firm or workplace. All the above begs the question, how do we prepare the future generation of lawyer for the digital workplace and digital economy? What does that look like and what skills will they need to succeed in the digital era? The University of Law’s Digital Academy is our response to those questions, an integral part of the university’s future academic model that provides intensive 1 to 1 digital support to students. The Digital Academy enables law graduates to understand their current digital capabilities by using the JISC Discovery tool, a self-reflective benchmarking platform that tracks and analyses their digital capabilities over the course of their studies. The JISC Digital Capability framework provides the basis for the ‘well rounded, digitally capable legal professional’ to develop a wide range of digital skills to succeed and thrive in the digital economy. These range from information and data literacy to digital wellbeing practices. By using the JISC Discovery Tool, students can reflect on and engage with learning that contributes to the development of skills requiring improvement. This not only promotes the development of digital skills but ensures a commitment to continuous CPD from an early stage. Digital capabilities such as coding and creation of digital media may not be directly relevant to law firms. To think like this is a missed opportunity however, as developing these skills can increase a graduate’s

ability to interface and adapt to new forms of legal technology and a greater commercial understanding of the tech sector, a rapid growth area for most law firms. With Canva now being valued at $15bn, an understanding of online media creation can boost a student’s knowledge and insight into the processes that companies like Canva are engaging in. The other key aim of the Digital Academy is to create a professional training environment, one that mirrors best practice within learning and development departments in law firms. The transition from academic to work-based CPD learning can often be challenging for law graduates and can lead to disruption, as graduates may need more time to adjust to the internal training regimes of law firms. Our content and focus on adult learning pedagogy ensure that graduates start to become familiar with the type of training and content delivered by traditional learning and development departments, allowing graduates to ‘step into’ the formal training structures with ease. In addition to and complementing the Digital Academy, is the ULaw Tech and Research Academy (ULTRA), an online platform that provides updates and learning on the latest legal tech developments such as legal AI and blockchain. Developing an awareness of these types of technologies ensures that graduates are law firm ready from day one, ensuring they can use this technology to develop efficient and effective workflows. By focusing on building digital capabilities, law graduates can build for themselves a solid foundation of digital competencies, one that enables them to excel within a rapidly changing environment. This should enable them to enter law firms with a broad range of digital skills, allowing them to adapt and evolve their practice to any technological developments or new ways of working. Having an awareness of legal tech and ai at an early stage can really help new solicitors leverage the most from this technology, allowing them to achieve greater productivity and ROI from day one.