Canadian Lawyer 4Students

C A N A D I A N L a w y e r 4STUDENTS AUGUST 2017 57 change, says Paton. It created committees to explore potential cur- riculum changes and hands-on learning opportunities for students. e Faculty of Law there is already launching experiential part- nerships with organizations such as the Alberta Utilities Commis- sion and Alberta Human Rights Commission. In September, it will launch an experiential opportunity with the Canadian Armed Forces. "ese sorts of targeted opportunities support and supplement what for the longest time has happened independently through stu- dent legal services," Paton says. "Our student clinic is not an integrat- ed part of our curricular activities. We don't give credit for it, and we need to take a look at how we're doing that." Beyond hands-on practicums, law schools also have an opportu- nity to bring technology and design to the foreground. is is already happening in some areas. Georgetown University Law Center's Tech- nology, Innovation and Law Practice practicum runs an Iron Tech Lawyer competition where student teams show off apps built to en- hance legal practice. Stanford University operates a legal design laboratory, which trains law students in human-centred design, giving them the skills to de- sign new, more accessible legal solutions. at program uses an inter- disciplinary model that Ford says will become more popular. "I can imagine greater interest in interdisciplinary and linking them more actively with other faculties and departments on cam- pus," she says. is will prompt law schools to think about creating graduates who have those core legal capacities but who also bring some other legal skills to the table. is collaboration could include not just internal faculties but other institutions including technology innovators, incubators and hubs, Ford suggests. As someone working closely with technology companies, MaRS' Jones sees value in bringing technology entrepreneurs to the table with legal educators. "Entrepreneurs are talking to the legal schools as part of this eco- system," she says, adding that she has seen technology companies that offer legal and technology solutions working with faculty to find traction. Law firms large and small can also become a bigger part of a conversation with law schools to help join the dots and give law students the preparation they need for a shiing industry, say ex- perts. Deloitte's Austin says that this is also an opportunity for legal firms and general counsel to address the development of new skills when training junior employees themselves. "If we are right that this is truly the fourth industrial revolution and we're going into a tech age, then perhaps the skills they need to learn in those first years are more around communication and responsiveness and less around research," she says. e onus here will be on mentorship, says EY's Israel. She identi- fies a need to have strong mentors and coaches to help those junior lawyers who may not have the chance to be involved at the ground level. ere will be other upsides from a career perspective as law firms, in-house counsel, law schools and students themselves ad- just to legal automation. One outcome will be an expansion of the client base, believes UBC's Ford. Technology will drive new efficiencies into legal practice including "one too many" services, where a single list serves many different clients with the help of automated technology. "We can serve people who may otherwise find it expensive to re- tain a lawyer," she says. Naysayers may bemoan the commoditization of legal practice, but developments like this open up new career opportunities for millen- nials entering legal practice, say experts. Look for changing working practices, driven in part by automation and the use of new technol- ogy. "Flexibility might be something that we see more of, so you might see more part-time lawyers and more remote work arrangements, which we wouldn't necessarily have seen in the past," says Israel. She also anticipates a rise in contract lawyers to handle project- based solutions such as research and proposal writing. is presents yet another opportunity for junior lawyers as they seek out new career paths within the legal world. "A lot of this transformation and disruption that we're seeing will impact not just how we practise law but what we practise," she adds. Technology ushers in new legal and ethical dilemmas that will challenge law firms and their clients. ose companies that are pre- pared for them can add value in an industry facing an unprecedented commoditization of skills. We're likely to see a demand for experts who can grasp the nuances of everything from blockchain technol- ogy through to cybersecurity and biotech. "With this change, there are new areas of law that will be opening up. at's where law schools also will have to be proactive and stay on top of where these new areas are." One trend permeating Canadian Lawyer's interviews about this topic revolves around choice. Stakeholders, including students, can view the emerging disruption of the industry as a hurdle to overcome or as an opportunity presenting new career choices. ose who choose the latter get to be at the forefront for the new industry working patterns and have the chance to shape their own careers as they emerge from the legal education. e hand wringers can at least console themselves with the knowledge that law isn't the only profession undergoing this transformation. Other careers such as accounting face similar transitions. One thing is clear: A reactive approach to technology disrup- tion will put legal firms, law schools and students on the back foot. Understanding how this will affect law careers and adjusting for the future will ease the transition to practice and set new lawyers up for success as they begin on this exciting journey. features 4S

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