I love technology and learning new tech skills. It’s been fascinating seeing technology evolve over the last couple of decades and to see prices go down for ever more powerful technology. I remember paying $100 for a 128mb memory card that held less than 100 songs and seeing a 1gb memory card behind glass at the Sony Store for $1000. Now you can get a 32gb memory card for $10 from a bin on the floor at Best Buy.
In today’s world and to be competitive in today’s workforce, being comfortable with technology, especially desktop operating system environments, is critical. A lot of young people are comfortable with phones and tablets, which typically run Android or iOS operating systems, but can’t competently use Windows or Mac OS.
Android and iOS are simplified operating systems designed for use on smaller screen devices and are best suited for communication and media consumption. I was able to complete my undergrad in business administration using a more simplified laptop running Chrome OS, but my second undergrad in computer science required a more business-oriented machine.
Most office jobs require basic knowledge of desktop operating system environment and productivity software such as Microsoft Word and Excel, with more advanced knowledge (such as VBA and macros) preferred.
I am now seeing more and more jobs that traditionally didn’t require coding skills at all now listing them as preferred if not mandatory. These jobs include financial analyst positions and various marketing positions. How long until jobs in law require the same?
For these reasons, I think it’s great that TRU and Professor Sykes offer the Designing Legal Expert Systems course and I hope to see this area of focus expand at TRU Law. In contrast, Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson Law) has a mandatory coding bootcamp course for their law students.
I agree that lawyers should be adopting more technology into their practice and welcome their adoption. The one aspect of implementing coding I have always had trouble with is the specialized knowledge required to become truly proficient. As I understand, coding takes quite a lot of time to learn, and there are numerous languages and programs that people can further specialize in. As a result, I am often skeptical of the adoption of coding in other professions, not because I don’t think it is useful or necessary, but because computer scientists who are hired to build applications have spent years honing their craft just as lawyers have. I think lawyers can educate themselves on coding and what’s possible in the legal profession. However, I envision a world where law firms have a tech department devoted to coding rather than lawyers who have some knowledge in the area.