Contact: Edith Sachs, Office of Public Affairs, 212.431.2187, esachs@nyls.edu

NEW YORK, June 20, 2005 --- From electronic courtrooms to online research tools to the emerging area of cyberlaw, technology has become a ubiquitous presence in the practice of law. Its influence is felt in every aspect of the legal field, extending beyond law firm operations and practice management to cutting-edge issues at stake in intellectual property litigation. Increasingly, law firms and other employers of law school graduates are looking for candidates who are conversant in technology, both in terms of hands-on skills and a more theoretical understanding of how technology impacts the strategies and tactics used by lawyers in advocating for their clients. These candidates are perceived as more prepared to transition from law school to law practice and requiring less investment in training and orientation by their employers.

To give the school’s graduates a competitive advantage in this evolving market, New York Law School’s Institute for Information Law and Policy is introducing a “Certificate of Mastery in Law Practice Technology.” Starting in the fall 2005 semester, students will be able to pursue this certificate, to be awarded as an honor upon graduation. Students receiving the certificate will have demonstrated mastery of particular technology skills—such as electronic litigation, online transactions, or courtroom technology—that will prepare them for law practice and distinguish them as especially qualified candidates for legal positions.

In order to receive the certificate, students complete a core curriculum in cyberlaw, intellectual property, and information law; attain at least four “mastery awards” in specific technologies; and contribute significantly to the work of the Institute during the course of their law school tenure.

“Candidates for the certificate complete a core curriculum in technology law and then translate that theory into practice through hands-on work with those technologies relevant to lawyering in the digital age,” said Professor Beth Simone Noveck, director of the Institute for Information Law and Policy. “We want to encourage all New York Law School students to become tech-savvy lawyers who are better problem solvers because of their ability to use software code as well as legal code.”

Mastery awards may be given in a variety of areas. Among the technologies are:

• Webmaster—Create a complex web site or substantial and persistent weblog
• Electronic Litigation—Demonstrate mastery of an electronic discovery/evidence analysis tool
• Advanced Electronic Litigation—Demonstrate mastery of case-mapping software
• Courtroom Technology—Develop an effective electronic courtroom presentation using audio, video, and graphics
• Information Management, including document assembly—Use document assembly software to automate creation of a standard document used in a specific area of law practice
• Law Teaching on the Screen—Develop a training/teaching system in an area related to the Institute curriculum
• Legal Expert Systems—Develop a legal expert system
• Advanced Legal Software Systems—Develop innovative legal software for law practice or law teaching
• Infrastructure—Demonstrate mastery of network administration and Web server configuration
• Online Transactions—Demonstrate mastery of cross-firm online deal room systems
• Back Office—Demonstrate mastery of a specialized legal software system (e.g., electronic licensing systems, corporate governance systems, or practice management systems)
• Online Dispute Resolution—Demonstrate mastery of advanced online dispute resolution systems or develop a new one
• eGoverment—Contribute to the development of new systems for bringing governmental institutions online

“Students may propose additional topic areas for awards, which would be accepted by a majority vote of the Institute faculty,” said Professor David Johnson, visiting professor of law and a member of the Institute faculty. “We want to encourage students to build and design their own tools, not just to study those built by others.”

Students seeking a mastery award would submit a proposed plan for demonstrating mastery of that subject to an Institute faculty member, preferably at the beginning of the second year. If the faculty member approves the plan, he or she will monitor the student’s progress and make the award when he or she judges that the plan has been completed. Plans may take into account the student’s existing level of mastery of the subject; no specific minimum or maximum effort is required to earn an award.

The Institute will hold regular meetings for students pursuing specific technology skills mastery awards. These meetings will feature outside experts and provide focused training on particular topics, with the goal of helping students advance toward completion of their mastery award plans.

For more information about the Certificate of Mastery in Law Practice Technology and the Institute for Information Law and Policy, please visit http://old.nyls.edu/infolaw.

About the Institute for Information Law and Policy

The Institute for Information Law and Policy is New York Law School’s home for the study of law, technology, and civil liberties. Participants in the Institute aim not only to understand the interplay of law and technology, but to influence its development. The Institute develops and applies theories of information and communication to analyze law and policy. It also seeks to design new technologies and systems that will best serve democratic values in the digital age. The Institute is, above all, a “do tank” where lawyers innovate, harnessing the new tools of information and communications to the goals of social justice. Taking full advantage of its New York location, the Institute convenes people across disciplines and institutions in pursuit of its goals and exposes students to the best of the legal, technology and design communities.

About New York Law School

Founded in 1891, New York Law School is the second oldest independent law school in the United States. Drawing on its location near the centers of law, government, and finance in New York City, its faculty of noted and prolific scholars has built the school’s curricular strength in the areas of tax law, labor and employment law, civil and human rights law, media and information law, urban legal studies, international and comparative law, and interdisciplinary fields such as legal history and legal ethics. New York Law School has more than 11,000 graduates and enrolls some 1500 students in its full- and part-time J.D. program. It is one of only two law schools in the metropolitan area to offer the Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation. 

# # #