04/05/18

A lawyer's guide to programming and computer science

Wim Dejonghe recently claimed that "the legal professional of the future needs programming skills". The Allen & Overy partner is not the only one claiming that a certain level of expertise in computer science will be required for lawyers to adapt to the now rapidly evolving legal profession.

This is not an article on how artificial intelligence, blockchain and other technologies will impact the daily practice of a lawyer or in-house counsel, however. You're reading this, so you're probably already aware of their potential impact*. What you need now, is a way to understand what's going on under the hood, because you won't get far by merely listing potential applications, without knowing how they work.

That's why I've listed what I believe are the most useful (free) resources to (i) establish basic knowledge and understanding of programming and computer science in general, and (ii) dive deeper into the world of artificial intelligence and blockchain. I experienced first-hand that you won't get far without a solid foundation to build on, so try not to skip too many steps along the way!


Getting started

The best way build that foundation is by taking Harvard's Introduction to Computer Science class. Forgot live classes and high tuition fees, you can take this class from behind your computer screen. All classes are available on Youtube, but enrolling on edX will give you (free) access to class transcripts and additional material.

Continue to read the full article here.

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