Chicago-Kent was recently listed as one of the 13 Top Law Schools Teaching Law Practice Technology. The list cited Prof. Staudt’s Center for Access to Justice & Technology as a primary reason for including us. Through programs like its Justice and Technology Practicum, the Center provides a great opportunity to learn legal technology skills.
But are these skills really important for landing law jobs? The American Lawyer published a story recently about a major legal client who saved money by testing members of the law firm it hired to be sure they had mastered certain basic technology skills. In all, 9 firms were tested, and all failed. Lesson learned: technology skills matter. What skills would you like to see taught at Chicago-Kent?
As technology continues to evolve and be adopted at an increasingly rapid pace, service-oriented industries must develop the requisite skills. The legal profession is by no means an exception. Be it secure case data submission and storage tools or private online client communication portals, progressive law schools like Chicago-Kent must teach future lawyers to master new and developing technologies. The rest of us need to embrace these technologies as well, just to keep up with client expectations.