The way that law is practiced is changing rapidly. Technological advances have undoubtedly changed how we practice law. From administrative procedures to ethical considerations to new and exciting doctrinal areas, understanding how technology impacts the practice of law is essential for any future-ready legal professional. The Certificate in Legal Analytics & Innovation, offered through the College of Law Legal Analytics & Innovation Initiative, gives students an edge in this exciting area.
Students have the opportunity to pursue the Certificate in Legal Analytics & Innovation in two exciting ways through either the Legal Analytics or Technology and Innovation paths. See the Certificate Requirements section below for more information.
HIGHLIGHTS
A-
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Benefits
- Preparation: The certificate prepares students to be future-ready lawyers. Through both paths, participants are exposed to cutting-edge areas of legal practice. These experiences will allow students to excel in a new legal environment where technological prowess is a necessity, not just a benefit.
- Practical Application – The certificate will allow students to learn about and solve real-world problems. Students in the Legal Analytics Path will develop data-driven solutions and insights into real legal issues. The Technology and Innovation Path allows students to engage with, use, and evaluate technology used in modern, tech-driven legal practices. Students in both tracks will experience opportunities and training sought after by law firms, nonprofits, and judges across the country.
- Flexibility – With two tracks and over 20 credits of electives, students can customize their certificate experience to fit their interests.
- Transferability– Earning the certificate does not mean you have to work strictly in legal technology or analytics. The skills you learn in either certificate path are widely applicable to almost every kind of legal practice.
Potential Careers
- Attorney
- Strategic legal insights attorney
- Data privacy and security attorney
- Legal analyst
- Quantitative analyst
- Counsel, software & analytics
- Client data analyst
- Analytics & risk management
Atlanta Advantage
Located in the heart of downtown with access to Atlanta’s vibrant, diverse and growing tech scene.
A FEW STEPS
- Coca-Cola, Georgia Pacific, Southern Company and other corporate headquarters
- State Capitol
- Federal and state courts
- Other local, state and federal government agencies
A FEW MILES
- Major law firms
- Numerous Fortune 500 headquarters
- 17,000 tech companies
- $113.1 billion tech industry
- 1,250 multinational corporations
Certificate Requirements
(Requires 16 credit hours)
Students must be in good academic standing, based on the successful completion of the first full year of law study (30 hours), to participate in the certificate program. Students must remain in good standing to continue program participation.
Introductory Course
Starting in Fall 2022, all students pursuing the Certificate in Legal Analytics and Innovation are required to take Law 7333, Introduction to Legal Technology and Innovation. Students then have the opportunity to choose either the Legal Analytics Path or the Technology and Innovation Path to complete the Legal Analytics & Innovation Initiative Certificate.
Legal Analytics Path
In the Legal Analytics Path, students will learn to identify patterns using big data analytics, including text mining, machine learning, image analysis, and other methodologies to produce research and quantify the type and frequency of case dispositions to predict future outcomes. Participating students select from a wide variety of legal analytics and technology-related courses, culminating in a capstone experience that allows them to pursue an analytics-related independent study topic or work in the Applied Legal Analytics Lab.
Requirements
- LAW 7333 Introduction to Legal technology & Innovation (2 credits)
- LAW 7674 Legal Analytics I (3 credits)
- Legal Analytics Capstone Experience
- LAW 7676 Applied Legal Analytics Lab (3 credits), or
- Independent Study of a Legal Analytics topic under faculty supervision (2 credits)
- At least 16 credits in LAII designated courses (requirements + electives below)
- Writing Requirement (See heading below)
- Students must obtain the following badges, offered by GSU’s Library Research Data Services team. Learn more about the badges and trainings offered by RDS.
- Both the R basics and the R advanced badge.
- R Basics
- R1 Quiz: Getting started with R and RStudio
- R2 Quiz: Tidyverse and Manipulating data – Earn your badge!
- R Advanced
- R3 Quiz: Data Visualization and Mapping
- R4 Quiz: Statistical Modeling – Earn your badge!
- R Basics
- In addition to the 2 R badges, you must earn either the Tableau badge or the Python badge:
- Python
- Python & Data 1 Quiz: Getting Started
- Python & Data 2 Quiz: Manipulating & Transforming Data
- Python & Data 3 Quiz: Visualizing Data & Creating Models — Earn your badge!
- Tableau
- Tableau 1 Quiz: Data Visualization – Getting Started
- Tableau 2 Quiz: Beyond Basics – Earn your badge!
- Python
- Both the R basics and the R advanced badge.
Technology & Innovation Path
The Technology and Innovation Path will allow students to gain a broad familiarity in Legal Technology, Law and Technology, and Legal Analytics to prepare them as future-ready lawyers. Students will develop a sophisticated knowledge of how technologies, systems, and innovation affect and progress the practice of law, and how to use, implement, and evaluate these technologies. Similar to the Legal Analytics Path, participants select from a wide variety of legal analytics and technology-related electives to better tailor their experience to their interests and objectives.
Requirements
- Law 7333 Introduction to Legal technology & Innovation
- Law 7356 Legal Technology Competencies & Operations
- W requirement in LAII area course (see heading below)
- Law 7334 Legal Process Engineering / Independent Study
- Current students in the T&I track must create a faculty supervised independent study to satisfy the capstone experience. We hope to be able to offer a class-based capstone in the future.
- At least 16 credits in LAII classes (requirements + electives below)
Writing Requirement
Students must complete a substantial writing project on a Legal Analytics & Innovation topic. The LAII writing requirement will satisfy the College of Law’s upper-level writing requirement.
- The independent study capstone experience may, with permission of the instructor, satisfy the writing requirement.
- Elective courses noted below as “(writing)” may also satisfy the requirement.
- With prior permission of an advisor, other courses may also satisfy the requirement such as seminars in other fields of study where there is a sufficient connection with legal analytics or technology.
Elective Courses
(A)– Legal Analytics Requirement
(T&I)– Technology and Innovation Requirement
Required courses in one path may satisfy electives for the other.
- LAW 7674: Legal Analytics I (A) (Offered in the Fall. Students with an interest in the legal analytics track should consider taking this course during the first semester of their 2L year.)
- LAW 7356: Legal Tech. Competency & Operations (T&I)
- LAW 7575E: Legal Analytics II/Applied Text Analytics for Law and Business (Pre-req Law 7674 Legal Analytics I)
- LAW 7065: Antitrust Law
- LAW 7135: Cybersecurity Law and Policy
- LAW 7139: e-Discovery (summer)
- LAW 7293: Seminar on Original Meaning: Linguistic Analysis of Legal Texts (writing)
- Law 7334: Legal Process Engineering (T&I)
- LAW 7353: Information Privacy Law
- LAW 7353: Information Privacy Law (evening)
- LAW 7354: Technology Law and Ethics (writing) (summer)
- LAW 7366: Legal Innovation
- LAW 7629: Blockchain, Smart Contracts & the Law (writing)
- Law 7358E: Expert Testimony Using Tech
- RCB MSDA courses (upon approval depending on background)
- MSA 8010– Data Programming for Analytics
- MSA 8040– Data Management for Analytics
- Additional courses(upon approval)
We will work with students to treat additional seminars or upper-level classes as Certificate electives if there is significant overlap
Extracurricular Activity
- Students are encouraged to participate in legal analytics extracurricular activities such as:
- Workshops and boot camp training sessions hosted at the College of Law or Robinson College of Business,
- Participate in additional client-focused data projects (“sprints”),
- Work with affiliated faculty as a GRA,
- Pursue internship placements as they become available
Grades and Honors
- A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required across all courses taken in satisfaction of the certificate requirements, including the writing requirement.
- Honors will be awarded for achievement of a GPA of 3.6 or higher in all Legal Analytics & Innovation courses taken for the certificate.
Verification for Graduation
To graduate with a certificate, students must submit a Verification for Certificate in Legal Analytics for review no later than the end of the drop/add period of a student’s last semester prior to graduation. The form must be signed by the student’s academic advisor.
For more information
Contact Patrick Parsons, pparsons@gsu.edu, 404-413-9162
Learning the foundations for data analysis has shown me an efficient method to resolve problems that almost all public interest organizations face.
– Laura Steinbach (J.D. ’21)
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