Should lawyers learn to code? Opinions differ widely. Those in favor, including David Colarusso and V. David Zvenyach, say that lawyers and computer programming are a natural fit. Lawyers are sophisticated information managers who acquire, process, organize and deliver content to meet clients' needs. They analyze, solve problems, and reverse engineer complicated issues. Lawyers have the skills and ability to read detailed instruction manuals, and they’re adept at complex file management. They deal less in abstractions and more in practice, applying the tools at their disposal to the issues they confront. At the same time, lawyers must be systems thinkers who are skilled at conceptual thinking and able to see linkages between components. All are the traits of a good programmer.
However, despite this overlap in skill sets, encouraging overworked attorneys to dedicate the time and energy that a coding boot camp or do-it-yourself course of study requires is no small recommendation. Coding may be a nice skill to possess, like bilingual fluency or a second advanced degree, but it’s not a necessity, say skeptics like Edward Hartman, and unlike language skills or an MBA, computer programming does nothing to improve a lawyer's ability to provide competent representation, or so the argument goes.
Whichever side of the debate you might support, there's no doubt that technology is significantly changing the practice of law. Whether automating routine office tasks or harvesting evidentiary data from large files, technology has a role to play. Lawyers who have a baseline understanding of technical concepts and who understand how their computers operate will be better prepared to troubleshoot problems and to communicate more knowledgeably with IT staff when those troubleshooting efforts fail.
Our nation's legal documents have been described as the operating system of our country. Understanding how the judiciary and the legislative process work is akin to understanding how the Internet works. The better familiarity one has with these critical systems, the more intuitive they become. If building that kind of intuition is something you seek to accomplish, visit the links below. They are all god places to start your journey
Coding for Lawyers
Hello World! Should Attorneys Learn to Code?
Online Forms Meet Local Document Automation (Cut-and-Paste Coding)
