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Legal Futures and Technology Major

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Undergraduate students enrolled in a Bachelor of Laws or a combined degree with a Bachelor of Laws may choose to undertake the Legal Futures and Technology Major.

Video: Legal Futures and Technology Major - Introduction

Increasingly, technology is part of everyday legal practise as it

 

evolves and advances.

 

Technology is also an integral part of our legal future.

 

This series of videos is designed to provide more

 

information about the legal futures and technology major

 

that is available for undergraduate law students at

 

UTS.

 

This should help you understand more about the major and plan so

 

that you are able to meet the eligibility requirements to

 

complete the major.

 

It will also give you more information about the technology

 

law subjects that are available for all undergraduate law

 

students at UTS.

 

Technology is disrupting the practise of law.

 

Recently, generative AI tools have presented challenges and

 

opportunities for the legal profession,

 

but this is only one of many challenges and opportunities

 

that we have already encountered and we expect to encounter in

 

the future.

 

AI has already been accepted as a tool that can aid legal

 

research and discovery and document generation.

 

But generative AI expands the potential role of technology in

 

legal practise along with the potential for its misuse.

 

At the same time, data analytics can protect legal outcomes or

 

assess causes of action in disputes and negotiations.

 

These tools need to be used thoughtfully by lawyers to

 

minimise risk and ensure ethical practise.

 

Lawyers also increasingly encounter new types of

 

technology that require regulation. From smart contracts

 

to cryptocurrency to NFTS,

 

the major helps you to understand how all parts of your

 

legal education can be relevant to these questions of legal

 

technology. This understanding is critical as lawyers encounter

 

or participate in virtual legal services and are asked to advise

 

on them.

 

The major recognises that increasingly, clients are

 

demanding more than traditional knowledge and skills from

 

lawyers.

 

Expectations are shifting and lawyers play a key role in the

 

regulation and management of technology, including the

 

ethical dimensions of technology.

 

Legal professionals have an opportunity to partner with

 

clients and experts across a range of disciplines in order to

 

address modern challenges. By developing innovative solutions

 

in the legal Futures and technology major, we provide you

 

with many of the skills that you will need to address these

 

challenges. At UTS,

 

we have drawn on the deep knowledge and understanding of

 

technology in our lower faculty and across the university to

 

launch the first legal technology focused major, the

 

UTS Law, legal Futures and technology major.

 

The introduction of the major in  followed extensive research

 

and industry consultation.

 

This research highlighted the critical importance of providing

 

our law students with skills to address ongoing technological

 

disruption and understand its impact on the legal profession.

 

Even in five years, the need for these skills has intensified

 

with the development of new technology that challenges the

 

role of legal professionals.

 

The course subjects in the major include hands on real world

 

technology coursework to help our students develop and hone

 

these skills.

 

Students have opportunities to undertake legal internships with

 

the legal futures and technology focus that helps students to

 

develop relevant practical skills when they encounter legal

 

problems related to technology.

 

These skills include project management and effective group

 

work

 

and communication.

 

Students undertaking the major are highly competitive in the

 

legal jobs market and the skills they learn compliment other law

 

faculty programmes including Mooting and the Aliens. NEOTA

 

Logic UTS Law Tech Challenge

 

Students undertaking the major have the opportunity to learn

 

from a range of experts in the field.

 

On this slide you can see the academics who teach the core

 

subjects of the Major.

 

Doctor Genevieve Wilkinson teaches the first capstone

 

subject, Professor David Lindsay teaches the nd capstone

 

subject, and Doctor Ivana Wright teaches disruptive technologies.

 

These academics are joined by other experts who teach a range

 

of electives available as part of the major.

 

Students have diverse opportunities to learn from

 

these experts in different fields where technology is

 

important, including intellectual property, media and

 

digital platforms.

 

Our students are also able to undertake honours research

 

theses supervised by these academics on diverse topics.

 

All of these subjects equip our students to learn from experts

 

about how they can manage a legal future where technology

 

plays a critical role.

  • The Major consists of five subjects, totalling 30 credit points. 
  • The Major is undertaken in students’ penultimate and/or final year.

Compulsory subjects

Video: Legal Futures and Technology Major - Course structure

In this video, I will talk to you about subjects that comprise

the compulsory subjects in the major, noting that you're also

 

required to choose two other approved electives.

 

In all, the major consists of five subjects totaling  credit

 

points. It's therefore important to make sure that you have 

 

credit points available to enrol in the major.

 

There are two compulsory capstone subjects, Capstone 

 

and Capstone .

 

The Capstones are designed to bring together much of what

 

you've you've learnt in your law degree and to expand on it with

 

a technology focus.

 

As your third subject, you have a choice between an elective

 

disruptive technologies and the law and a local internship

 

including the Law Tech Clinic.

 

It's usual and advisable for students to complete the

 

disruptive technologies elective before studying Capstone One, as

 

what you learn in the elective will help you with the capstone

 

subjects.

 

Finally, you must choose two other electives from a range of

 

approved technology law electives, which includes

 

subjects such as intellectual property law, media law,

 

workplace health and safety, and regulating technologies.

 

The first of the capstone subjects is technology, law,

 

policy and ethics.

 

This subject explores the policy and ethical issues that arise in

 

light of the significant impact that technology is having on the

 

world, and the role of lawyers in shaping policy and protecting

 

the vulnerable.

 

Lawyers need to be adaptive and technically capable. In response

 

to these impacts, and in line with UTS philosophy, it's

 

important for students to understand the ethical

 

implications of new and emerging technologies.

 

Ethical and policy issues arising from innovative

 

technology pose new threats to our freedoms, privacy and

 

security, but also opportunities to use technologies to find

 

solutions to some of the world's great problems.

 

Technology also offers an opportunity to resolve some of

 

the United Nations problems in achieving its Sustainable

 

Development Goals.

 

This subject engages with changes and challenges resulting

 

from technological developments that could be addressed by the

 

law, including emerging legal technology which can erode the

 

possibility for human review and oversight, and technology that

 

enables governments and private organisations to monitor our

 

moves and listen to our conversations.

 

The second capstone subject is the Applied project in Law,

 

Innovation and Technology.

 

This is a practically oriented subject in which students use

 

legal project management skills to solve real world technology

 

law problems in innovative ways.

 

In this subject, students work in teams to solve problems for

 

clients over a full semester and are required to present

 

solutions to clients and produce a final research report

 

throughout the semester. Students learn skills in legal,

 

project management, legal operations, researching

 

technology law and in teamwork.

 

In addition, the subject introduces students to legal

 

technologies and, importantly, how technology is changing the

 

practise of law.

 

The projects students have worked on in past years have

 

included technology law projects involving generative AI, the

 

energy sector,

 

fintech, smart cities and agritech.

 

Working on projects such as these is a great opportunity to

 

get up to speed in rapidly evolving areas of the law that

 

will continue to be important.

 

In addition to the two capstone subjects, students enrolled in

 

the major must complete either the disruptive technologies

 

elective or the local internship.

 

Technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, the

 

Internet of Things, cryptocurrencies, smart

 

contracts, fintech and legal tech post fundamental challenges

 

for law and regulation.

 

That said, the law often lags behind technology.

 

The challenges of disruptive technologies mean that

 

technology lawyers must be advanced problem solvers,

 

including being able to advise clients about the application of

 

laws that are not fit for purpose and in contributing to

 

policy debates about how to regulate new technologies.

 

This subject equips students with the essential tools needed

 

to understand how existing laws apply to new and emerging

 

technologies and to contribute to debates about law reform.

 

This includes providing the necessary foundation in areas of

 

the law, such as intellectual property and data privacy law.

 

As you might imagine, given the subject matter, the material

 

covered in the subject varies from year to year in response to

 

topical issues.

 

Students that do not enrol in disruptive technologies have the

 

option of completing a local internship with a technology

 

focus.

 

The internship provides students with the opportunity to obtain

 

practical legal experience and develop professional skills

 

through working with a local host organisation.

 

It involves participation in an internship for  weeks during

 

the teaching session and involves placement at a legal

 

service provider.

 

From . Students can also enrol in the Law Tech Clinic,

 

which is delivered in partnership with BOTL and Lander

 

and Rogers.

 

The clinic includes A seminar programme delivered by experts

 

in legal technology, as well as working over the semester on a

 

low tech project under the supervision of partners at

 

Lander and Rogers, which involves developing a practical

 

solution such as a chat bot or an app.

 

 

Students must undertake 76106 Technology Law, Policy and Ethics (Capstone 1) and 76107 Applied Project in Law, Innovation and Technology (Capstone 2). Capstone 1 must be completed prior to enrolling Capstone 2.

Students commencing their study in Autumn wishing to complete the major MAJ09443 Legal Futures and Technology need to ensure that they study 76106 Technology Law, Policy and Ethics (Capstone 1) in their final Autumn session before they study 76107 Applied Project in Law, Innovation and Technology (Capstone 2) in their final Spring session. 

Students commencing their study in Spring wishing to complete the major MAJ09443 Legal Futures and Technology need to ensure that they study 76106 Technology Law, Policy and Ethics (Capstone 1) in their penultimate Autumn session before they study 76107 Applied Project in Law, Innovation and Technology (Capstone 2) in their final Spring session. 

The two compulsory subjects total 12 credit points.

 

Optional subjects 

Video: Legal Futures and Technology Major - Optional subjects

 

One of the requisite choices in the major is the subject

 

disruptive technologies and the law.

 

This subject covers the impact that disruptive technologies are

 

having on the type of work that lawyers do and the way that they

 

do it.

 

There are three powerful forces at play in this space.

 

First, modern technology is changing the way that society

 

does business and the way that we relate to each other. As a

 

consequence, technology is changing the way that different

 

types of relationships break down and how laws are broken.

 

Second, lawyers are confronted by a need to find new and better

 

ways to manage and make sense of huge quantities of digital

 

information and electronic correspondence. And finally,

 

regulators and legal professionals are struggling to

 

keep pace with innovation.

 

This subject explores these three themes and covers a wide

 

range of topics including a brief history of how disruptive

 

technologies have and will continue to impact the law,

 

the regulation of data and privacy in a big data world,

 

artificial intelligence and autonomous machines such as self

 

driving cars,

 

blockchain technologies including smart contracts and

 

cryptocurrencies,

 

digital platforms,

 

connected devices such as smart speakers and other Internet of

 

Things devices, and finally the interaction between technology

 

and the legal profession and the professional obligations we have

 

as lawyers in relation to the effective and ethical use of

 

technology.

 

More than ever before lawyers need to be problem solvers. They

 

need to be adaptive and technically capable. Tech

 

fluency should be part of every law. Graduates Armoury and This

 

subject enhances these attributes.

 

In addition to Capstone and Capstone  and your requisite

 

choice, students are required to select two elective subjects to

 

complete the major. There are a range of elective options

 

available to students undertaking the major, and you

 

are encouraged to check the handbook for the most up-to-date

 

list.

 

Electives cover a wide range of topics relevant to technology,

 

including the protection of innovation and creativity under

 

intellectual property law, how data may be used under relevant

 

privacy and data protection regulations,

 

media law and the regulation of digital platforms, and important

 

questions such as why and how we should regulate technology in

 

general.

 

The requisite options, including disruptive technologies in the

 

law and local internship, are also available as electives, so

 

students can undertake both options should they choose.

 

And finally, those students who were eligible for honours can

 

undertake both the research methodology and research thesis

 

subjects as electives in the major.

 

Students must choose 6 credit points from the following options:

76105 Disruptive Technologies and the Law or 76097 Local Internship or 79992 Law Tech Clinic

 

Students must choose 12 credit points from the following options:

76070 Biomedical Law and Bioethics

76105 Disruptive Technologies and the Law

76056 Intellectual Property Commercialisation Overview

76084 Intellectual Property: Copyright and Designs

76085 Intellectual Property: Trade Marks and Patents

76114 Just Tech

76097 Local Internship

76063 Media Law

76019 Media and Digital Platform Regulation

76089 Privacy and Surveillance Law

76113 Regulating Technologies

76090 Research Methodology

76040 Research Thesis

79992 Law Tech Clinic

Not all subjects are offered each session. Students must check the Handbook and follow the progression set out in the Handbook. Students must also check the university timetable to ascertain which subjects are offered in each session.

Local internship

Students undertaking an internship as part of the Major must choose a tech-related internship. See tech-related internships.

Honours

Students who undertake the Major and who meet the criteria for honours can choose to undertake honours as part of their degree and still qualify for the Major. The subject requirements for students completing both the major and honours (MAJ09444) are:  

  • Both 76106 Technology Law, Policy and Ethics (Capstone 1) and 76107 Applied Project in Law, Innovation and Technology (Capstone 2).
  • Both 76090 Research Methodology and 76040 Research Thesis; and 
  • Choice of 76105 Disruptive Technologies and the Law or 76097 Local Internship or 79992 Law Tech Clinic

 

Enrolment 

Video: Legal Futures and Technology Major - Enrolment

 

Hello my name is Maxine Evers and I'm an Associate Professor here

 

in the faculty and I was involved in the establishment of

 

the legal futures and technology major in .

 

So I'm going to speak to about the eligibility requirements for

 

you to undertake the major so if you are an undergraduate student

 

whether undertaking the bachelor of laws or the bachelor of laws

 

and combined degree.

 

And you wish to undertake the legal futures and technology

 

major then you have  options but both options have the same

 

core requirement that is that you have  credit points

 

remaining from your electives in your study plan.

 

Once you have established that then you can enrol in any of the

 

subjects listed in the major and that will then put you into the

 

major stream you don't need to enrol in anything else

 

specifically you don't need to contact the student

 

administration or the faculty just enrol in the major

 

subjects.

 

If you are already undertaking some subjects that are listed in

 

the major?

 

And including those subjects you have  credit points remaining

 

you may decide to opt to continue with major subjects and

 

therefore graduate with the legal futures and technology

 

major listed on your test team.

 

If you are unsure as to whether you do meet the eligibility

 

requirements in terms of having space in your study plan I would

 

encourage you to contact the faculties director of students

 

and they will be able to give you some advice about your study

 

and whether or not you do have room in the major to undertake?

 

At the  credit points required.

 

If you are a student undertaking honours or considering honours

 

you can also?

 

Undertake the major provided that the.

 

On this component will be part of the major So what that means

 

is.

 

You've got  subjects to complete honours the research

 

methodology which is a prerequisite to actually

 

undertaking your research thesis.

 

So you need to ensure that you have the space to do the

 

research methodology.

 

And then move on to the research thesis and of course if you are

 

undertaking the.

 

A thesis in the major you would be doing a thesis in relation to

 

the that very broad area of technology so you'd be likely

 

contacting one of my colleagues in the law faculty who work in

 

the area of law and tech.

 

So as far as eligibility requirements are concerned it's

 

very straightforward you need to ensure that you have those 

 

credit points of electives.

 

Can you just go ahead and enrol in the relevant subjects but as

 

I just said earlier I encourage you that if you do have any

 

concerns or any questions that you contact the faculties

 

director of students their details will be on the faculty

 

web page under current students and get some advice thank you

 

very much?

 

 

To be eligible to enrol in the Major, you must have 30 credit points of electives remaining in your degree. Students are encouraged to consider their subject enrolments well in advance as some electives are offered once every two years.

Related links

Law and tech at UTS

Technology and innovation: the future of law

Legal tech internships

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