Careers Within Legal IT: A Guide

What Is a Legal IT Job?

Legal IT jobs are positions that apply technology, software, hardware, and other tools to the delivery of legal services. Technology in the legal industry encompasses numerous functions, organizations, teams, and roles within law firms, court systems, government, corporations, small and mid-sized businesses and more. These functions include the infrastructure that runs the applications and tools used to develop legal documents, case management, project management and many other areas of law practice. Legal information technology also expands beyond the use of computers and internet connection . It includes all of the ways legal professionals utilize technology in their work, from practice management and legal research to data analysis and security, as well as in their communications with clients, attorneys, courts, and government agencies. Legal IT jobs require a myriad of skills according to the responsibilities of the position. A legal information technology position may be an entry-level role or a senior leadership position. Many IT legal professionals are management or director level. Typical day-to-day activities include staff supervision, budget development and monitoring, resource allocation, vendor management, and interfacing with other departments to provide training to team members, audit software and hardware, and allocate and delegating the legal technology strategy.

Popular Careers in Legal IT

As legal tech continues to evolve, the workforce behind this change becomes more important than ever. Below are some of the key legal tech roles, but the possibilities are limitless.
Legal Tech Consultants
A legal tech consultant has one of the most suffused roles in legal tech. Most typically, they work with lawyers and law firms in identifying methods for their implementing technology. However, what exactly does that mean? They essentially act as a gatekeeper to research the best software for a law firm’s needs, liaising with the vendors, and then roll out the best ones (or recommend the best ones) to the client.
They may also do things like write status updates, manage projects, or even interface directly with the lawyers to understand their processes. It really depends on the firm and the situation, but they’re a key role in the industry and will increasingly become more in demand moving forward.
IT Support
Other such jobs in legal tech are helping lawyers, firms, and other legal-related clients to have better computer use. Think about it: considering how common malware and viruses are, don’t you think you’d want someone to maintain your law firm’s IT? For teaming websites, there’s a lot to consider and maintain, and that’s where support comes into play.
So in a nutshell, IT professionals working for legal organizations are there to curate, maintain, and fix the systems of that institution. In a classic IT role, of course, they work to create the right tech, but legal IT roles have another responsibility… protection.
IT support should ideally be familiar with the intricacies of legal technology and have an understanding of the tech services, such as cloud and virtual desktop hosting that most law firms now utilize. For any civil or criminal law firm, a basic understanding of case law management systems is also mandatory.
Legal Software Developers
Like most software developers, these software aren’t restricted to a particular industry. In legal tech, developers craft software for lawyers, law firms, and other legal institutions across the country. Could you imagine dealing with dozens of cases at once without legal software backing you? Being a legal software developer can be a lucrative profession.
Entailing a standard degree in computer science, developers work with clients to figure out what kind of software is required, and then code it to be ready for the client’s use. There are some developers that advertise specifically towards legal companies; this might not seem like the most creative type of project, but there’s plenty of room for innovation.
Data Analysts
Just like in any industry, data analysts process a law firm’s information to make sense of it. In legal tech, they work with law firms and other legal institutions to sort through petty and major bits of information for their clients.
The difference between data scientists and data analyst is that former conducts more research. To be a legal data analyst, you’ll need to have plenty of math skills and work as a liaison between the analytics team and the clients to interpret the data from one to the other. The data analyst role is also highly specialized in the field of legal IT.

Skills Necessary to Work in Legal IT

When considering careers in legal IT, it is essential to understand the skills required for success in these roles. The scope of technical and interpersonal skills needed can vary significantly depending on the specific position, but there are commonalities across many legal IT jobs.
When it comes to technical skills, understanding of current programming languages is a must. In addition to Java, the languages used by integrated case management vendors and Electronic Document Management ("EDM") vendors are frequently in the top 10 of the developer technologies in demand in the legal sector. For instance, ASP.NET and C# remain popular and are frequently used by case management vendors in Australia. Python, JavaScript and R also appear in the top 10. Some of these languages are suitable for training new recruits and others may be more suited to programming by contractors.
Knowledge of the SQL language is also helpful because it forms the foundation of many case management and EDM products. SQL Server, predominantly Microsoft’s SQL database, is the most frequently used SQL implementation in the Australian legal market. Cases or matters are usually stored in tables and relationships are captured via foreign key constraints to other tables. For example, matters are usually related to clients, which are related to matters. Knowing how to join these tables together is one of a number of essential skills when working with data in an SQL database.
There are a number of other important databases used in the Australian legal sector including Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL and Microsoft Access. Oracle-based or MySQL-based implementations are also popular for more sophisticated websites which offer interactivity via forum blogs like Lexis Red. Understanding how these work may also be useful.
Some roles do require knowledge of how various databases work, but if not, then knowing exactly how each database functions is a nice to have.
Data remains vital to the legal sector and the ability to make decisions and perform actions based on that data rapidly and accurately will continue to be a critical success factor for employed or contracted staff working within the legal sector.
Vendors providing case management and document management products in the legal space often have lesser numbers of staff than their clients. They often outsource development to each other, hence, knowledge of the appropriate APIs (Application Programming Interface) for interfacing with such products may be essential.
The soft skills required can be quite challenging. High levels of communication, technical aptitude, willingness to learn on the job and socializing skills are all important. For IT professional services companies, interviewing is more about finding the right "fit" than prior experience, but finding the right equilibrium is challenging.

Education and Certifications

Professionals in legal IT come from diverse academic and professional backgrounds. While a traditional law degree is not required, familiarity with legal concepts and procedures can be beneficial. Many legal IT specialists have backgrounds in business, computer science or information technology, often having started their careers as IT administrators, systems analysts or network technicians. These individuals then transitioned into legal support roles after coming into contact with lawyers or law firms in the course of their IT duties.
Formal education such as an M.S. in Information Systems (or even an MBA with a focus on IT systems) is becoming more common in the legal IT environment. Knowledge of network infrastructure, server maintenance, application development, legal software and systems security are critical. Additionally, programs that incorporate knowledge of "soft skills" that will allow students to interact with attorneys and staff effectively, as well as a sensitivity to budgetary issues for this type of work, are essential. Programs that incorporate coursework in these "soft skills" will help students learn to effectively convey technical concepts to non-IT colleagues.
Certificates and certifications for legal professionals working in this area are offered by vendors and at schools as well. Many vendors offer certificates via distance learning for products they sell. Some offer advanced certification programs that cover multiple products and specialization areas. In fact, advanced certifications are offered by both Microsoft and CompTIA (in network administration and security, for example) for non-legal areas. However, a small number of legal technology providers do now offer certifications in specialized software and other areas, covering elements such as e-discovery and litigation support software.

The Importance of Technology in Law Firms

The legal industry has started to embrace technology in a very meaningful way. Traditionally, there has been a gap between how technology can be used in law practices versus how it’s actually used by legal practitioners. This is changing and while it might not seem like a lot, it’s a step in the right direction. The increasing use of technology in law practices is really exciting to see, something we as legal recruiters have been watching grow over the years. Before long, almost all law firms will be similarly driven by the power of technology.
One example of this widespread adoption of technology is innovation in legal research. Law practices are already starting to adopt more artificial intelligence-based legal research tools that allow their lawyers to perform legal research more efficiently . It can also help with data management so that legal questions can be answered faster, especially where there is precedent on a particular issue from previous cases. We also believe that e-discovery platforms such as Logikcull, Relativity or iPro will be used in more law practices as the associated costs become more normalized. Law practices are beginning to explore cloud-based digital contract management solutions to modernize how they draft and execute contracts. It’s only a matter of time before everyone realizes how much easier it is to use applications that manage contracts, regardless of firm size.
The more we use technology in the support of legal functions, the better it will be when real estate/corporate practitioners and support teams need it for their jobs. We’re more excited than ever about where the legal industry is going with technology.

Trends and the Future of Legal IT

As we already mentioned, the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also impacted the work in legal departments and law firms. According to Robert Walters, the UK job market moved from being supply-driven to demand-driven. The firm added that there is growing interest in data protection specialists amongst companies operating in the field of technology and and finance. As a consequence, legal IT professionals will be in even greater demand in the near future.
When it comes to the tendencies in newest technologies, most industry experts agree that blockchain will play a central role within the next decade. The analysts from MarketsandMarkets, for example, predict that the blockchain industry will grow from $1.2 billion in 2016 to $60 billion in 2024. "The growing demand across various industries for efficient and transparent record-keeping is driving the growth for the blockchain technology market", the company wrote on its website. "The blockchain technology market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 82.0% between 2018 and 2024."
In contrast to blockchain, big data adoption is more advanced, according to Deloitte. In a 2018 article, it states that organizations use big data more than they did last year. Over time, data becomes more integrated into an organization’s business processes. The article further adds that some organizations focus exclusively on "data analytics, with others placing greater emphasis on either strategy or technology". While Deloitte clarifies that no single strategy works for every organization, it is clear that data analytics is becoming increasingly important.
Artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to increase in importance for the legal industry. Thomson Reuters’ Global Legal News Survey found that nearly all (97%) of the respondents expect AI applications to impact the legal industry. Nearly three quarters (74%) of the global respondents expect that the major impact will be on workflow efficiency.
The International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) has identified key hiring trends to look out for in 2018 on their website. It found that hiring staff with experience in project management will "enable firms to improve their ability to deliver legal services more efficiently". The hiring trend will not only cover Project Managers but also include professionals with skills in change management and strategy formulation.
The industry expects that awareness around cyber security will continue to evolve, especially for mid-sized firms. Previously, larger firms and corporations handled the vast majority of the cybersecurity work.

Getting into the Legal IT Industry

Many legal IT professionals start their careers in entry-level IT positions within law firms, realizing over time that a passion for working with legal professionals has emerged. One can also move to the legal technology field after gaining experience in fields like computer security, records management, databases, and other IT-related jobs. Long-term, those who pursue a career in legal IT witness the legal sector react to global trends, technological advances, the specific needs of corporations and firms, and the growing amount of data. Innovations such as artificial intelligence, analytics, and cloud computing are all components of the legal IT market. A large and inclusive legal information professional organization exists to help interested parties make sense of the legal IT landscape. The Association of Legal Technologists (ALT) is a UK-based neutral forum for everyone who works at any level in a legal information and technology environment. They promote best practices in developing, using, and managing legal technology to ensure it achieves the best result for everyone who pays for and uses products and services in their daily lives . In order to work in legal technology, it is good to have a combination of the following know-how: Technology-savvy professionals can showcase their skills by using the latest equipment and software and can find associated employment by completing appropriate certifications, often through coursework one can take online. Internships may be available at universities where legal informatics programs exist; however, those looking for work should also network with experienced attorneys and legal professionals, as well as other people in legal IT. Employment opportunities may be gained through a professional organization or industry associations as well, such as the Head of Legal IT Jobs at the Legal Technology Core Competencies Certification Coalition (Core Competencies), which develops and maintains the Legal Technology Core Competencies Certification for all legal information professionals. Working with a mentor is wise for all professionals as well. These knowledgeable practitioners can help novices land their first jobs and offer valuable advice on how to approach networking and career decisions. Those who work in legal technology must keep track of current events, as technology and law firms are developing and deploying new software tools to help their clients. Legal technology workers must also stay informed about changes in the law.