How to Hack Your Way to a Law Job
A "legal hacker" is probably not what you think it is.
Legal Hackers is the name of a grassroots movement of lawyers, technologists and others who share information to solve legal problems through technology. Since starting in 2012, it has grown to more than 100 cities across the United States and other countries.
If you knew that already, did you know that you can hack your way to a law job? Here's how to do it:
Hack Your Way
Lawyerist writer George Simons says legal tech jobs are not as abundant as a lawyer may hope. Legal skills and tech skills are just not the same.
But attorneys, especially solo and small firm partners, have something extra: the ability to start a business. Simons says some -- like Atrium and Savvi Legal -- are carving out dual-entity firms and creating legal technology for their firms.
Derek Parry, another example, founded Code 180. Parry's program teaches legal professionals how to write code in 180 minutes.
But Jameson Dempsey, a New York attorney, is perhaps the most famous "legal hacker." He co-founded Legal Hackers.
Legal Hackers
The organization hosts conferences to teach legal tech skills around the world every year. Brazil, for example, has had up to nine chapters with 1,500 participants.
In 2018, the first European Legal Hackers Summit hosted participants from 12 countries. Meanwhile, others attended the 2018 International Legal Hackers Summit in New York.
Forbes reported that legal hackers are changing the legal industry. With workshops on coding, data science, design thinking, artificial intelligence, open data, and more, Legal Hackers has room at the tech table for lawyers virtually everywhere.
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- Is Your Firm Ready for Chatbots? (FindLaw's Technologist)
