As legal technology becomes indispensable in today’s law practice, many law schools lag in preparing students for this tech-driven landscape. The question of how law schools should enhance their curricula to meet this need is critical. A recent article suggests a framework based on the “Three Cs”: Competence, Curiosity, and Capability. This covers the essential skills and mindset law students require to excel in a technologically advanced legal environment.
The first “C,” Technology Competence, is foundational. It’s increasingly seen as an ethical mandate, with many state bars adopting regulations similar to the ABA Model Rules for technology competence. Law schools have a responsibility to teach students the basics of legal tech tools, ethical implications, client technology use, and cybersecurity. This typically means incorporating these subjects into existing courses or offering them as electives, ensuring all law graduates have this essential grounding.
The second “C,” Technology Curiosity, encourages students to view technology not just as necessary, but as an opportunity to transform legal practice. This involves exposing students to tech innovators and creative legal tech solutions through workshops and speaker series. This approach aims to inspire students to use technology in innovative ways that may enhance service delivery, accessibility, and open new career paths.
Technology Capability, the third “C,” focuses on providing practical experience in creating tech solutions for legal issues. This includes participation in innovation labs or clinics where students identify challenges, develop solutions, prototype applications, and test these with users. While not all students need to become programmers, understanding how to manage tech projects and collaborate across disciplines is invaluable.
For law schools wanting to adopt this framework, a phased approach could be effective. Starting with a mandatory course on technology competence in the first year and gradually introducing speaker series, then innovation labs or clinics, and finally cross-disciplinary collaboration, offers a scalable method for schools of varying resources to implement.
The article concludes that law schools that embrace these Three Cs—Competence, Curiosity, and Capability—will prepare students not just to meet current ethical standards, but to lead future legal innovations. As the legal landscape evolves, those who can bridge traditional legal expertise with technological acumen will become industry leaders.
Read more about these strategies in the full article.