Legal Technology and Legal Innovation

About

In this summer course students will gain a better understanding of the concepts of legal technology and legal innovation as well as the importance of these concepts in the evolution of the legal world.

They will understand the basic principles of the programming language Python and will be able to apply these principles in simple coding exercises.

They will learn to code a decision tree, a mechanism that is daily used by lawyers, sometimes without being aware of it. Students will understand how a computer makes decisions and how it can make predictions by using so called explaining algorithms. That way students will also gain insights in how a computer can predict judicial decisions.

Students will also meet several legal start-ups and will understand the opportunities of legal technology and legal innovation in the business and customer services of these start-ups.

One of these opportunities are the so called smart contracts. The concept of smart contracts will be analysed. The following questions are addressed: What is a smart contract? What is the legal value of a smart contract? What are the legal difficulties that might arise using a smart contract?

Besides this, students will also learn about the technical aspects of a smart contract and will learn how to put the basic principles of coding a smart contract into practice.

Finally, the students will gain a better understanding of the concept of legal design thinking, in which a multidisciplinary frame is used to present and approach legal problems and legal services in an innovative and customer friendly way. Students will also apply the basic principles of legal design thinking in short exercises.

The course will end with a “LegalTech Game”. Participants who successfully pass this test after continuous class participation will receive a certificate of completion.

Target group

Master students in Law and Law professionals. No prior knowledge is required.

Fee info

The fee includes lectures, course materials, coffee breaks, social activities, and a closing ceremony. It does not include accommodation, meals or travel arrangements.