Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain are rapidly transforming our legal system. Now, most high street law firms are upgrading themselves to software that enable lawyers to draft and summarise legal documents in a more efficient and time-bound nature. Such appears to be the future of law that graduates are not just competing with paralegals, and fellow other trainees but also hustling to adapt to technology.
This intersection of AI with the law may concern traditional practising lawyers. But, it has also opened up a host of exciting opportunities for those looking to combine their non-legal academic backgrounds with their passion for law. Kurren Nischal, trainee at Harold Benjamin Solicitors, is one such example.
Computer science, maths, and law are not mutually exclusive
Kurren graduated in mathematics and computer science at Imperial College and pursued a career in software development and programming for eight years. Currently seated on his first rotation with the property development team, he believes that his programming skills may give him an edge over his other counterparts. He says,
“I don’t believe that computer science, mathematics and law are mutually exclusive. There are plenty of points where they do cross-over. For instance, earlier the Land Registry used to accept only hard copies for their applications. Now, they have gone online in their application processes and blockchain will only serve to make government registries more secure. AI will further simplify legal work especially when summarising leases and portfolios.
“My understanding of these reforms may give me an advantage over other law graduates in the industry. Besides being comfortable with the IT and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, I believe that my software development skills also yield efficiency in project management.”
Perhaps, this inter-sectionality is best illustrated by Richard Susskind in his book ‘Online courts and the future of justice’. Susskind predicts that in the future courts would become more of a service than a physical institute. Yet, he is careful to emphasise that law firms, chambers and courts would only go through a digital transition and not be entirely dismantled. Submissions of pieces of evidence and uploading of documents have already become commonplace. In the next phase, he believes that systems will be able to predict the outcomes of court decisions based on precedent law by using predictive analytics.
Artificial Intelligence and analytics
Priyankaa Patel initially advanced onto a graduate scheme with a Swiss Banking firm. Passionate about the law since she was 15 years old, Priyankaa later decided to blend her experience in data analytics with a career in the legal industry. Initially, she followed a traditional route of achieving her LLB and LLM then she gained paralegal experience at solicitor firms within the Private Client area. Priyankaa commenced her training contract with Harold Benjamin in September 2019 and is currently in her first training seat within the dispute resolution and litigation team. She finds the evolving world of legal tech an exciting adventure even today. She says:
“Financial law is quite different from other branches of law. I have now dealt with private client law and litigation. My background in finance has certainly helped me wade through areas such as taxation, trusts, bankruptcy and insolvency as well as property litigation. Inheritance tax is often very complicated, so my financial background definitely helps me navigate those issues for clients.
“At present I am focussing on adapting to the evolving tech-oriented nature of the legal industry and my role within it. At our firm, we heavily invest in a variety of new to market legal support technologies. The firm’s Award winning early adoption of an identity checking platform (which incorporates the use of AI technology) has improved business efficiency, for the firm and our clients”.
Going the paralegal route
So, if you have qualified with an LLB law degree, the post graduate Legal Practice Course (‘LPC’) and later gained experience as a paralegal at law firms, where to next? The reality is that securing a training contract with a law firm in such a climate is extremely competitive.
Davina Puran is a trainee solicitor currently training in the Private Client team at Harold Benjamin. Having graduated from the University of Leicester, she achieved her LPC August 2014, Davina has over five years’ experience dealing with different aspects of property law from previous paralegal roles. She has spent the last three and a half years within the Property Development team at Harold Benjamin. Today, Davina believes that having previous experience as a paralegal has given her a more comprehensive knowledge of the law and great client exposure. She says,
“My paralegal experience has made me familiar with how to approach different property transactions. This has given me the confidence of independently approaching clients and dealing with matters with minimum supervision.
“The great part of doing a training contract is that you become accustomed to other fields of the law. Hence, the biggest challenge so far has been learning the law across different sectors. It’s important to do this before you understand the field you want to specialise in. Being a trainee involves an understanding of not just how the transaction works but why it works the way it does in the field that you are currently training in.”
