Darya Yelova
Product Manager, Firelex
Learning coding at work can help younger lawyers and banking professionals who have grown up with technology develop their careers and work more efficiently.
The legal and banking professions are incredibly competitive. Increasingly, younger lawyers and finance executives strive to become technically savvy to learn new skills and thereby differentiate themselves from their peers. By acquiring a basic understanding of coding, they can develop their careers and work more efficiently.
The legal profession is sometimes deemed a little ‘late to the party’ when it comes to adopting technological innovation. Yet modern scripting languages like JavaScript have in fact made it very easy for lawyers to automate many of their day-to-day chores.
Digital transformation at law firms can be complex
Many law firms, as well as banks, are keen to modernise and are going through complex digital transformations. Encouraging lawyers and financial service professionals to learn simple coding as part of any tech enablement strategy will help businesses remain competitive in the future.
“The firms that embrace someone’s wishes to learn to code and urge others to try it will see efficiency benefits and also improve their service to clients,” says Darya Yelova, who works as a product manager at Firelex, which has developed a platform that allows lawyers to automate documents and experiment with legal AI using a simplified version of JavaScript.
Automation could replace repetitive tasks
Yelova adds: “There might be a legal opinion a lawyer needs to prepare five or ten times a month, or a particular type of agreement, such as a non-disclosure agreement, that’s drafted frequently. If coding is made easy for lawyers, they can create forms and templates by themselves and don’t have to wait for a developer within their firm or an outside consultant to do it for them.
Or, as Yelova puts it: “Why use a chauffeur when you can drive the car yourself and get to your destination faster?”
Coding is a creative task and can differentiate employees
Being able to write relatively simple computer programs is certainly one way for lawyers and bankers to differentiate themselves as they look for ways to enhance their careers. What’s more, for many of them, coding is enjoyable because it allows them to be creative.
“Many 21st century lawyers love technology, so learning something as cool as coding have an appeal,” says Yelova.
Much has been said about how technology may eventually replace at least some of the work lawyers do. By engaging with technology, lawyers can make the machines work for them, instead of letting the machines take over their work.
“This is not about turning lawyers into computer scientists but about giving them a basic understanding of software and how it works so they can improve their lives and that of their clients.”