Washington Lawyer - September 2019 - 15

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In 2012 the American Bar Association (ABA) seemed to recognize the permanence of that change, revising its rules to reflect the advent of technology in the profession. Amended ABA Model Rule 1.1 notes that an
attorney has "to maintain the requisite knowledge and skill . . . including
the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology."
Last spring the D.C. Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee
proposed adding the words "procedures, and technology" to Comment [5]
to existing D.C. Rule 1.1 to emphasize the importance of keeping abreast of
technological advances.
The response from law schools to this new technological landscape has been
consequential - technology is not only an area of law to study but also a tool
to be mastered. Today, law schools are providing students the opportunity to
examine cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools and cloud technology -
and even to learn how to code - as well as to explore their applications in
the legal marketplace.
"Students are savvy. They are not to be underestimated in their desire to be
professionally and personally well equipped for their future careers as attorneys," says Camille Nelson, dean and professor of law at WCL. "Whether they
are students who have come straight from undergrad or have already
worked for some time in business, government, health care, or as paralegals,
for instance, they want to be more competitively situated to achieve their
professional and career goals. So, I think most students appreciate the innovations and changes being made."
Bill Treanor, executive vice president and dean of Georgetown University
Law Center, agrees, noting that even in areas of the law not yet created,
"technology is changing the relevant questions we all ask."
"There are new issues that you need to be technologically sophisticated
in to even understand the law. For example, in the criminal justice
area, the court is able to access information about you through facial
recognition that we would not have anticipated just 10 years ago," adds

Treanor, the Paul Regis Dean Leadership chair and professor of law at
Georgetown.
The fast pace of change has prompted law schools to offer a variety of
technology-related courses: litigating in a high-tech courtroom, blockchain
awareness, health information technology, artificial intelligence, design
thinking, and even Google AdWords. These forward-looking courses recognize that today's attorneys need computer and technical skills to competently serve their clients.
Treanor says Georgetown Law Center has invested heavily in the last
decade into building a comprehensive tech curriculum to better serve its
students. The law school has some 70 technology-related courses and
19 full-time faculty members with tech expertise. In spring 2020, the
university will open a center that focuses broadly on technology and
its impact on the law.
"We will have an interdisciplinary approach to solving the tough issues
that technology presents today that will involve law, computer science,
public policy, and philosophy," says Treanor. "We will be both about
producing cutting-edge research and educating the next generation
of policymakers."
Technology-infused training is critical for attorneys to respond to breakthrough issues of the day. For example, for attorneys to participate in
debates about the legal implications of Bitcoin, they must have a deep
knowledge of cryptocurrencies and global tech trends.
"By 2020, millennials will make up nearly half the workforce, and Generation
Z students - born between 1995 and 2010 - are right behind them," says
Christopher A. Bracey, interim dean, vice provost for faculty, and professor
of law at The George Washington University School of Law (GW Law).
"Millennials, for example, grew up surrounded by technology, and GW Law
has embraced the use of technology inside and outside of the classroom to
better empower these students."

We will have an interdisciplinary
approach to solving the tough issues
that technology presents today that will
involve law, computer science, public
policy, and philosophy. We will be both
about producing cutting-edge research
and educating the next generation of
policymakers.
BILL TREANOR
Dean, Georgetown University Law Center

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Washington Lawyer - September 2019

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