Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T07:35:50.128Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - Scaling the Gap

Legal Education and Data Literacy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 December 2019

Catrina Denvir
Affiliation:
Monash University, Victoria
Get access

Summary

Over the last decade Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the form of data-driven tools designed to support legal task completion, have occupied a growing position within the delivery of private legal services and the exercise of administrative functions by the public sector. As a result, whilst technological literacy was once understood as the capacity to use particular forms of word processing software, navigate the Internet or send electronic correspondence, modern forms of literacy demand a user exhibits a broader range of skills, including the ability to understand, apply, visualise and infer patterns from data. This chapter considers the range of current initiatives developed to address the technology skills and awareness gap amongst law students, and identifies the subject areas that ought to take priority in future curriculum development. It argues that exposure to data analysis and data-driven technologies represents a necessary component of students’ preparation for entry into the professions on the basis that this knowledge: (i) enhances student employability in an increasingly competitive graduate job market; and (ii) equips graduates to meet their wider civic responsibilities to uphold the rule of law and promote access to justice.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Administrative Review Council, ‘Automated Assistance in Administrative Decision Making: Report to the Attorney-General’ (Administrative Review Council 2004) www.arc.ag.gov.au/documents/aaadmreportpdf.pdf accessed 19 May 2018Google Scholar
Angwin, J and others, ‘Machine Bias’ ProPublica (23 May 2016) www.propublica.org/article/machine-bias-risk-assessments-in-criminal-sentencing accessed 29 May 2018Google Scholar
Ashley, K, Artificial Intelligence and Legal Analytics New Tools for Law Practice in the Digital Age (Cambridge University Press 2017)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashley, K, ‘Legal Reasoning and Artificial Intelligence: How Computers Think Like Lawyers’ (2001) 8(1) The University of Chicago Law School Roundtable Article 2 http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/roundtable/vol8/iss1/2 accessed 29 May 2018Google Scholar
Baksi, C, ‘Late to Law: Studying Another Degree First Is a Sensible Option’ The Guardian (London, 16 January 2018) www.theguardian.com/law/2018/jan/16/late-to-law-studying-another-degree-first-is-a-sensible-option accessed 31 October 2018Google Scholar
Baraniuk, C, ‘Durham Police AI to Help with Custody Decisions’ BBC News (London, 10 May 2017) www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-39857645 accessed 29 May 2018Google Scholar
Berk, RA, Criminal Justice Forecasts of Risk: A Machine Learning Approach (Springer Science & Business Media 2012)Google Scholar
Brainspace, ‘Home Page’ www.brainspace.com/ accessed 22 January 2018Google Scholar
Clocktimizer, ‘Home Page’ www.clocktimizer.com/ accessed 21 April 2019Google Scholar
Cochran, T and Heckstall, I, ‘From the Bachelor’s to the Bar Using College Completion Data to Assess the Law School Pipeline’ (AccessLex Institute 2016) www.accesslex.org/sites/default/files/2017-04/bachelors_to_the_bar.pdf accessed 28 October 2018Google Scholar
Dunn, M and others, ‘Early Predictability of Asylum Court Decisions’, Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law (ACM 2017)Google Scholar
Gartner, ‘Gartner’s 2016 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies’ (16 August 2016) www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3412017 accessed 1 July 2017Google Scholar
Goyal, M, ‘Do Lawyers and Law Students Have the Technical Skills to Meet the Needs of Future Legal Jobs?’ (Slaw, 29 June 2017) www.slaw.ca/2017/06/29/do-lawyers-and-law-students-have-the-technical-skills-to-meet-the-needs-of-future-legal-jobs/ accessed 20 July 2018Google Scholar
Greenleaf, G, ‘Legal Expert Systems — Robot Lawyers? An Introduction to Knowledge-Based Applications to Law’ (Australian Legal Convention, Sydney, August 1989) www2.austlii.edu.au/cal/papers/robots89/ accessed 29 May 2018Google Scholar
Harcourt, BE, Against Prediction: Profiling, Policing, and Punishing in an Actuarial Age (University of Chicago Press 2007)Google Scholar
Hemberg, E and others, ‘Tax Non-Compliance Detection Using Co-Evolution of Tax Evasion Risk and Audit Likelihood’, Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law (ACM 2015)Google Scholar
Hildebrandt, M, ‘A Vision of Ambient Law’ in Brownsword, Roger and Yeung, Karen (eds.), Regulating Technologies: Legal Futures, Regulatory Frames and Technological Fixes (Hart 2008)Google Scholar
Hildebrandt, M, Smart Technologies and the End(s) of Law: Novel Entanglements of Law and Technology (Edward Elgar 2015)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hildebrandt, M, ‘Law as Information in the Era of Data-Driven Agency’ (2016) 79(1) The Modern Law Review 1Google Scholar
Holborne, N, ‘University Pioneers Legal Tech Course for Law Degree Students’ (Legal Futures, 7 June 2018) www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/university-pioneers-legal-tech-course-for-law-degree-students accessed 20 May 2019Google Scholar
iManage, ‘Home’ https://imanage.com/ accessed 6 February 2018Google Scholar
iManage, ‘RAVN’ https://imanage.com/product/ravn/ accessed 22 January 2018Google Scholar
Jones, RP and Van Wyk, J, ‘Computers in Legal Education’ (1989) 4(1) International Review of Law, Computers & Technology 1Google Scholar
Judicata, ‘About’ www.judicata.com/about accessed 1 August 2018Google Scholar
Kagan, RA and Rosen, RE, ‘On the Social Significance of Large Law Firm Practice’ (1985) 37(2) Stanford Law Review 399Google Scholar
Kakas, AC and Sadri, F (eds.), Computational Logic: Logic Programming and Beyond: Essays in Honour of Robert A. Kowalski (1st edn, Springer-Verlag 2002)Google Scholar
Katz, DM, ‘Quantitative Legal Prediction – or – How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Start Preparing for the Data Driven Future of the Legal Services Industry’ (2013) 62 Emory Law Journal 909Google Scholar
Katz, DM and Bommarito, MJ, ‘Legal Analytics Course’ (2016) www.legalanalyticscourse.com/ accessed 18 May 2019Google Scholar
Kimbro, S, ‘What Should Be in a Digital Curriculum: A Practitioner’s Must Have List’ in Lauritsen, Marc and Goodenough, Oliver (eds.), Educating the Digital Lawyer (Lexis Nexis e-Books 2012)Google Scholar
Systems, Kira, ‘About’ www.kirasystems.com/about/ accessed 22 January 2018Google Scholar
Krantz, S and Millemann, M, ‘Legal Education in Transition: Trends and Their Implications’ (2014) 94(1) Nebraska Law Review 1Google Scholar
LegalRnD, ‘Home Page’ (Michigan State University) http://legalrnd.org/ accessed 18 May 2019Google Scholar
Leith, P, ‘Fundamental Errors in Legal Logic Programming’ (1986) 29(6) The Computer Journal 545Google Scholar
Leith, P, ‘Correspondence: The Emperor’s New Expert System’ (1987) 50(128) Modern Law Review 128Google Scholar
Leith, P, ‘The Application of AI to Law’ (1988) 2(1) AI & Society 31Google Scholar
Leith, P, ‘It and Law, and Law Schools’ (2000) 14(2) International Review of Law, Computers and Technology 171CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levin, M, ‘Legal Education for the Next Generation: Ideas from America’ (2000) 3(1) Asian-Pacific Law & Policy Journal 1Google Scholar
Lewis, M, The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy (Penguin 2018)Google Scholar
Lex, 100, ‘Clifford Chance Launches Law Tech Training Contract’ (Lex 100, 1 August) www.lex100.com/index.php/news/news-2/1562-clifford-chance-launches-law-tech-training-contract accessed 31 October 2018Google Scholar
Machina, Lex, ‘About’ https://lexmachina.com/about/ accessed 1 August 2018Google Scholar
LexPredict, ‘Predicting the Supreme Court’ www.lexpredict.com/portfolio/predicting-the-supreme-court/ accessed 21 April 2019Google Scholar
Linna, DW and Galvin, J, ‘Law School Innovation Index’ (Legal Tech Innovation, 2017) www.legaltechinnovation.com/law-school-index/ accessed 31 October 2018Google Scholar
Marsh, S, ‘Ethics Committee Raises Alarm Over “Predictive Policing” Tool’ The Guardian (London, 21 April 2019) www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/20/predictive-policing-tool-could-entrench-bias-ethics-committee-warns accessed 21 April 2019Google Scholar
Meers, A and others, ‘Lessons Learnt about Digital Transformation and Public Administration: Centrelink’s Online Compliance Intervention’ (Commonwealth Ombudsman 2017) www.ombudsman.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/48813/aial-oci-speech-and-paper.pdf accessed 19 February 2018Google Scholar
Movidius, ‘Intel Movidius’ www.movidius.com/ accessed 1 August 2018Google Scholar
Niesche, C, ‘Technology Focus Gives Law Students an Edge’ The Australian (Sydney, 1 June 2017) www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/technology-focus-gives-law-students-an-edge/news-story/88b483fda973429d5eeefd9b4e30c55a accessed 20 April 2019Google Scholar
Paliwala, A, ‘Creating an Academic Environment: The Development of Technology in Legal Education in the United Kingdom’ (1991) 5(1) International Review of Law, Computers & Technology 136Google Scholar
Parker, CE, ‘To Keep Pace with Tech, Law School Seeks STEM StudentsThe Crimson (Cambridge MA, 6 May 2016) www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/5/6/hls-admissions-stem-recruiting/ accessed 20 May 2019Google Scholar
Partnership for Public Service & IBM Center for The Business of Government, ‘The Future Has Begun. Using Artificial Intelligence to Transform Government’ (Partnership for Public Service & IBM Center for The Business of Government 2018) www.businessofgovernment.org/blog/future-has-begun-using-artificial-intelligence-transform-government accessed 20 May 2019Google Scholar
PredPol, ‘Predict Crime’ www.predpol.com/ accessed 1 August 2018Google Scholar
Redmount, RS, ‘The Future of Legal Education: Perspective and Prescription’ (1985) 30(3) New York Law School Law Review 561Google Scholar
Rhode, DL, ‘Legal Education: Professional Interests and Public Values’ (2001) 34(1) Indiana Law Review 23Google Scholar
Rosen, RE, ‘“We’re All Consultants Now”: How Change in Client Organizational Strategies Influences Change in the Organization of Corporate Legal Services’ (2002) 44(3 & 4) Arizona Law Review 637Google Scholar
Schäfke, W, Mayoral Díaz-Asensio, JA and Hvidt, MS, ‘Socialisation to Interdisciplinary Legal Education: An Empirical Assessment’ (2018) 52(3) Law Teacher 273Google Scholar
Schultz, NL, ‘How Do Lawyers Really Think?’ (1992) 42(1) Journal of Legal Education 57Google Scholar
Shotspotter, ‘Technology’ www.shotspotter.com/technology accessed 1 August 2018Google Scholar
Solan, LM and Gales, TA, ‘Corpus Linguistics as a Tool in Legal Interpretation’ [2017] BYU Law Review 1311Google Scholar
Solicitors Regulation Authority, ‘A New Route to Qualification: The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) — A Summary of Responses and Next Steps’ (Solicitors Regulation Authority 2017) www.sra.org.uk/documents/sra/consultations/sqe-summary-responses.pdf accessed 31 October 2018Google Scholar
Solicitors Regulation Authority, ‘SQE to be Introduced in Autumn 192021’ (Solicitors Regulation Authority, 8 November 2018) www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/sqe-launch-2021.page accessed 26 May 2019Google Scholar
Spielkamp, M (ed.), ‘Automating Society Taking Stock of Automated Decision-Making in the EU’ (AW AlgorithmWatch gGmbH 2019) www.algorithmwatch.org/automating-society accessed 7 March 2019Google Scholar
Staudt, RW and Medeiros, AP, ‘Access to Justice and Technology Clinics: A 4% Solution’ (2013) 88(3) Chicago-Kent Law Review 695Google Scholar
STEM Future Lawyers Network, ‘Home Page’ (2017) https://stemfuturelawyers.co.uk accessed 31 October 2018Google Scholar
STEM Future Lawyers Network, ‘Why STEM Students Make Great Lawyers’ (2018) https://stemfuturelawyers.co.uk/event/why-stem-students-make-great-lawyers/16 accessed 31 October 2018Google Scholar
Susskind, R, Tomorrow’s Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future (1st edn, Oxford University Press 2013)Google Scholar
Weinberg, A and Harding, C, ‘Interdisciplinary Teaching and Collaboration in Higher Education: A Concept Whose Time Has Come’ (2004) 14(15) Washington University Journal of Law and Policy 14Google Scholar
Weiser, M, ‘The Computer for the 21st Century’ (1991) 265(3) Scientific American 94Google Scholar
Wongchaisuwat, P, Klabjan, D and McGinnis, JO, ‘Predicting Litigation Likelihood and Time to Litigation for Patents’, Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law (ACM Press 2017)Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×