Should Lawyers code?

Can you code? No? Well, I am sorry to inform you but you are way behind in the current tech race. As it seems, learning to code is the new gold rush today and it doesn't matter whether you are a lawyer, a doctor, engineer, a valet parking operator, a telemarketer or otherwise. Robots will take your job and in less than a couple decades no profession will remain. (#irony)

At least, this is what is being announce. But will it?

 

Will robots take over lawyers? ¶

So, are lawyers' jobs in risk of being replaced by tech solutions? Of course! But don't worry, lawyers' future is not as dark as it seems.

Bit by bit, we can see the rise of new technologies that make lawyers' lives easier: mass advocacy systems, artificial intelligence for processes' data analysis, lawyer-client online marketplaces (have you seen HubJur yet?), technologies that assemble perfect legal documents in minutes and even "robot lawyers" that are equivalent to a 3-thousand lawyer force.

In face of this doomed scenario, many lawyers race to learn this wizardry that is programming. Intensive programming logic courses (beginner level?) teach that Law professionals should "code" and therefore become up-to-date to the tech revolution legaltechs bring.

Well, I am sorry to tell you this, but 99% of this so-called new-programmer-lawyers will not become programmers.

Don't get me wrong: I do believe that is important that everyone (lawyer or not) should develop logic thinking and systematic inherent to programming skills, being true that this rational approach brought by software development is beneficial to event structure a lawyers' thinking upon the drafting of a document and improving the overall quality of such lawyers' work.

What technology brings to the lawyer is the possibility to, by using good software and a solid logic-thinking foundation (not necessarily code), perform higher quality work in less time and at a more affordable price. It enables the lawyer to achieve, at last, the impossible triade of good, quick and cheap work.

Then I shouldn't learn to "code"?¶

Therefore, fellow lawyer, do not feel pressured to "code". Focus, instead, in following new tech solutions which improve your work and keep an open mind for innovations.

Support those who create new software which lessen the burden on your routine and can increase your productivity. Try it out. Do not rely in the false assumption of a market protection policy to refrain from using more efficient solutions, event if in a first glance such technology may seem to be "stealing" your clientele. Instead, fight and condemn such obstacles.

In Brazil, for example, there is a recent case of our Bar trying to criminalize startups that act in the aviation market, even though our aviation sector is far from efficient (links in Portuguese only, sorry about that, but I have linked a Google Translate URL):

OAB (Brazil's Bar) will propose Congress to criminalize legaltechs acting in the aviation sector

OAB investigates startups on client acquisition

Technology is not going anywhere, and it is a matter of time until everyone is using it. Be an "early adopter" instead of a baseless critic, and you will be ahead of your competition.

So, It isn't possible to be a lawyer-developer? ¶

Of course it is! Our critics made here are merely a pondering of this current image that dictates that those who cannot "code" are doomed to be left behind in this modern gold rush. It is indeed possible to follow technology evolution without coding, provided that you experiment and support new solutions without fear of losing market share.

This blog, as you may know, specifically aims at an unique point of view: not only a lawyer's view neither a developers' one, but both.

If you are a lawyer and you are interested in technology, follow our next posts with an opened mind and heart, since I will be discussing some ideas and thoughts on how to use technology to change your life.

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