The legal profession is changing and leading law firms welcome QUT's new Graduate Certificate in Future Law Technologies.
In response to the rapid changes in the industry, QUT Faculty of Law Executive Dean, Professor Dan Hunter is pleased to introduce a new Graduate Certificate in Future Law Technologies that will be commencing in July 2020. "Technology, globalisation, and new client expectations are re-writing the assumptions that underpin the entire legal system. As the largest law school in Australia, we have an obligation to our students and the legal profession to ensure our courses respond to the changing needs of the industry and equip our students with the skills, mindsets, and capabilities to meet those challenges head on,” he said.
QUT Faculty of Law’s new Graduate Certificate in Future Law Technologies has been designed to help graduates and practitioners extend their skills and knowledge in order to meet a rapidly changing professional landscape.
The 100% online course starting at the end of next month has already received a welcome reception from the legal profession. Philip Catania, Partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth said, “While legal capability forms the basis of a lawyer’s skill set, the ability to understand and use legal technologies in practice can be a real differentiator for aspiring lawyers as they enter practice. This course offers a wonderful opportunity to gain some very valuable expertise.”
Melanie Ryan, Head of Client and Technology Solutions at Herbert Smith Freehills says that the delivery of legal services is transforming, “the traditional legal business model is evolving, with lawyers working in non-traditional teams collaborating with people who have different skill sets and backgrounds in order to rethink and innovate how legal services are bought and delivered. There is a shift in the tools supporting legal services. Commercial legal advisors are leveraging technology platforms, data analytics and metrics, in tandem with their experience and knowledge, to support client strategy, clarify decision-making or to predict outcomes or trends to inform them about their business, industry or matter."
“We are excited to see that QUT are creating a Graduate Certificate in Future Law Technologies to support this change in the legal market, creating a nexus where law and tech can come together in a practical, applied format focussing on the areas of design, analytics, technology and innovation. Focussed study and qualifications in this area is an important step in providing quality advice and practical understanding of what is required to support and lead this change, in this exciting and still emerging area of law." - Melanie Ryan, Herbert Smith Freehills.
"As a Law Dean, each year I have a new cohort of students who won’t even begin their legal careers for half a decade, and will have to support themselves for 40 or 50 years after that. As an educator, I have, I believe, an ethical duty to understand where the future is going to take these students and graduates, and adjust accordingly. It’s not enough, unfortunately, for legal academis to teach our students the same things that they were taught when they started their legal careers. The future of law looks nothing like its past. One of the steps we've made towards preparing for that future is this course," said Professor Dan Hunter.
In addition to QUT teaching staff from the Law School with relevant expertise in law and technology the course will be taught by members of QUT’s Digital Media Research Centre, as well as a number of legal practitioners with real-world experience and industry insights.
Applications close 13 July 2020.
Current law students expecting to graduate in July 2020, are eligible to apply.