Legal Tech v Training Contract

[KS94]

I know this could be pretty controversial but I wanted everyone's opinion on legal tech which is shaking up the industry (and at a time where many junior positions are under threat).

Whilst I appreciate that obtaining a TC is the holy grail, and that if both opportunities presented themselves equally most would opt for a TC, how much consideration would give to an opportunity to work in legal tech (e.g. as a legal technologist).

I ask this as someone who is wrestling with the whole TC process, year after year, but I know that eventually I'd probably want to work in legal tech - therefore, a legal technologist role might be perfect for me.

However, I am concerned about the salary, progress and potential limitations of such a role which compared to what may eventually be regarded as the 'traditional lawyer' route.

What do you guys think? Would you consider legal tech as an alternative to the TC route? Do you have any concerns or reservations about taking on a role in legal tech? Has anyone here got any experience or understanding of the salaries, career progression and potential future opportunities in legal tech?

 

[Connor Jackson]

I think many graduates are curious about this but are put off by the uncertainty as it's a still an evolving field. Many law grads would prefer to play it safe rather than venture into alien territorty.

If more information about roles became available - how they fit into the legal field, how they might operate within law firms and possibly even break off into separate companies to service law firms - maybe then the field would generate further interest.

 

[Jessica Booker]

I think there is a much greater salary opportunity long term really.

Given the SQE coming in, you could do a legal tech role and potentially still qualify too.

Let’s put it this way - there are plenty of qualified lawyers in the market; there aren’t enough people who know about legal tech

 

[Jessica Booker]

Yep, agreed.

With over 60% of the votes from the poll indicating that more people would consider legal tech if they knew more - maybe we need more updates on legal tech on here to keep up with future trends?

Maybe you could start a thread and encourage people to post updates/stories in it?

I know there is some content on the formal TCLA courses and via the newsletters, but might be worthwhile having its own thread too.

 

[Jaysen]

Yep, agreed.

With over 60% of the votes from the poll indicating that more people would consider legal tech if they knew more - maybe we need more updates on legal tech on here to keep up with future trends?

Also open to ideas! We did have a legal tech forum back in the day, but we closed it down due to lack of demand.

 

[JohanGRK]

I wouldn't do it because I'm too risk averse. From what I can tell, a legaltech job shares many common features with that of a software engineer, which has a very different work life balance and much less stability. It doesn't help that most of the legaltech opportunities I've heard of are in startups and involve fixed-term contracts with no clear progression after that!

I totally agree that there's really not enough information on this (I'm guessing due to the small number of openings?). It's like the Legal Analyst jobs at Goldman Sachs and SocGen - a fair few people do them, but virtually no one on the internet has discussed them in any depth.

 

[Las123]

I think a thread/forum on legal tech is a great idea! There aren’t many resources out there, at least that I know of, that go into detail on what specific tools/systems are available out there, how law firms use them, and what’s developing in the space. Most articles provide a broad overview, so having a place to stay informed in a little more depth sounds great

 

[PSM]

Hi there,

Thought I would share my insight. I am a future trainee at Pinsent Masons, but I am currently on secondment at the firm I work at now, with the legal tech team as a technologist.

I would say I have found the role to be very different to my usual paralegal role. The work is more orientated around providing non-legal support via tech. For example, working on creating work request portals or client relationship portals. Also, helping to set up AI software which will analyse huge amounts of documents or to manage a deal. It is very much a solutions focused role but lets you have more creativity to explore how you can use legal tech to solve an issue.

As a result of that, you do get the chance to get involved with creating solutions to help win pitches and so a lot of client/partner contact is involved. It is extremely rewarding if the tech solution you have worked on is instrumental in winning work or pleasing a client by making their life a lot easier.

In terms of progression, a lot of law firms still have relatively new tech teams which may be overseen by an innovation team. Therefore, progression paths are still a bit unknown as the teams evolve. Currently many follow the paralegal structure of junior technologist, senior technologist, manager.

I think it is definitely an area to get involved in and helped me a lot in securing my TC. As Jessica mentioned, the number of people with legal tech experience is very low still compared to those seeking a TC. With the skills being incredibly useful and demand rising for tech savvy lawyers it is definitely worth exploring this route, even as a stepping stone to a TC.

Happy to discuss this further with anybody else / provide further insight to TCLA.