Let’s set some expectations and try to answer some of your questions about what’s going on here.
Who Made This?
Hi, I’m Sarah. I was going to put the part about me at the end but maybe it’s better to start with me so you can better understand my philosophy and goals in creating this resource.
I started off my career as an academic law librarian. I fell into legal technology because it was the easiest way of accomplishing my main goal of increasing access to (legal) information. I’m an educator at heart and I really hate the gatekeeping that goes along with technology, so I’ve made it a habit of whenever I learn something new about technology, I immediately write about it or otherwise share it with others.
I’ve now worked in the legal tech and innovation space for a few years. People seem confused and/or overwhelmed by the increasing proliferation of skills and knowledge that are covered under this umbrella term. If you look at what sorts of courses that are offered by law schools under the “technology and innovation” umbrella, there’s a huge variation in content and offerings. There’s also a tech competency requirement for lawyers in some states, but what that means, how to achieve that, how to measure it, etc. is really open to interpretation.
So this is my interpretation.
It’s also an attempt to move the conversation forward beyond the “lawyers need to code/no they don’t” surface fights. Competency is a continuum and legal technology & innovation have a variety of definitions. I wanted to put something down and give people something more concrete to react to.
This part is important: I do not think you need to know everything listed here to be considered a competent legal professional. What you need to know will really vary depending on what you do and where you do it. Both organizations and individuals should assess their needs to decide on what their own personal tech stack should be. My main goal is to try to create a pathfinder for either those looking to assess or improve their own skill set OR for those working in higher education or professional development programs and need assistance with program planning.
What You Can Expect to Find Here
This site is a guide to competency in legal technology and innovation. It contemplates three levels of competency across six domains of legal work and knowledge that are needed for legal professionals in the 21st century. Definitions of these competencies and domains are provided. Example demonstrable skills and knowledge for each domain at each level of competency are suggested. There are also some resources provided so that you can create a customized learning path.
This framework is organized in a way that makes sense to me, a person that has worked in this area for over a decade. There are certain baseline skills and knowledge that everyone working in the legal or justice worlds should have a handle on, and then some with varying levels of comprehension needed depending on a person’s job or interest. And honestly, there are some things you really don’t need to know about beyond knowing that they exist and that there are experts available to consult if you need them.
This resource will eventually also contain a curated collection of educational resources. At first, they will be from publicly available resources and then, if feasible, created for this resource to fill in gaps of coverage. It is also possible that an assessment tool may be created for evaluating an individual’s skill level, either by the individual his/herself or by an outside entity.
Basically, at present, this site – much like its creator – is in perpetual beta and should be considered a work in progress. The planned roadmap is as follows:
- Phase One is presenting the competency framework with suggested skills and knowledge. <- WE ARE HERE
- Phase One point Two is absorbing feedback and reworking.
- Phase Two is linking to available resources to guide people in finding ways to gain these skills and knowledge. e.g., a free offering from Coursera that would put a person in the Intermediate Level with Excel or a blog post or article that explains an innovative concept.
- Phase Three, if possible, is creating or finding collaborators to create the needed educational pieces if nothing currently exists publicly.
- Sometime after Phase One is creating an assessment tool sample. Maybe.
If you have any suggestions on how to improve this resource or materials that should be included, please feel free to contact me. sarah dot glassmeyer AT gmail
What This Resource is NOT
This was created initially to just flesh out and organize my thoughts around competency in legal technology and innovation. At the time of initial release, this site’s only original content is the organizational structure and definitions. Eventually there will be educational and training materials linked here, both those which are publicly available, and – if feasible – some content created for this site. There is no charge to use this site but some of the resources that I will link to may cost money. I will not be creating a program of certification for completion, and I won’t be seeking CLE accreditation.
Do You Want to Use This?
As with most anything I create, this is licensed under a Creative Commons license. Specifically, CC-BY-NC 4.0 which means you can reuse, adapt, or remix this for any non-commercial use as long as you give me credit. This was done in my free time and because it’s something I felt like was needed.
If you’d like to use this content for a commercial purpose, let’s talk.
About the Website Theme
This part isn’t important really but I’m a dork that pretends to be a designer sometimes so…
The header image comes from artwork created for a 100+ year old movie called “A Trip to the Moon.” I love retrofuturism and looking at how people in the past imagined the future would be. I often joke that working in legal technology is like doing steampunk or retro-futurism cosplay in a way because we’re often trying to apply modern technology to processes and patterns that are firmly stuck in the 19th century.
The highlight color is International Orange, the color currently used by NASA astronauts today for their launch suits as well as the color of the Golden Gate Bridge. There’s a twofold meaning here, as well as the choice to call this resource “Legal Technology and Innovation Explorer” over any other option. It’s time to expand your horizons, make connections to other industries, and move the legal profession forward in tools and practice. And while cosplay is fun, eventually we need to eventually join the rest of the world in the present and do big things.