ThinkSmart and Michigan State team up for class on legal process automation
Michigan State University College of Law and ThinkSmart are teaming up to teach law students about automation.
In a Thursday press release, ThinkSmart announced that its ThinkSmart Automation Platform (TAP) would be integrated into a course to be taught at LegalRnD—The Center for Legal Services Innovation at Michigan State University College of Law. Beginning with the Fall 2016 semester, TAP will be part of the curriculum for a class on litigation where students will learn how to automate a legal process while utilizing data, economic theory and analysis to predict outcomes and enhance litigation strategies. Additionally, students will partner with members of the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) to design and execute workflows. The class will also look at preventive law and how technology and improved processes can be used to avoid litigation and disputes.
“We are thrilled to be working with the ThinkSmart team,” said Professor Dan Linna, director of LegalRnD, in the press release. “LegalRnD’s mission is to improve legal-service delivery and access to legal-services for everyone. Much can be accomplished by creating standards and best practices and using technology to automate time consuming, manual processes.”
According to the press release, Linna designed the course alongside Michigan State Law graduate Amani Smathers, who is a legal solutions architect at Davis Wright Tremaine. Smathers was familiar with TAP because of its usage by the CLOC.
“As an organization, CLOC’s mission is to help legal operations professionals and other core corporate legal industry players (e.g. tech providers, law firms, law schools, etc.) to drive efficient and effective solutions,” stated Connie Brenton of the CLOC leadership team, in the press release. “LegalRnD is on the cutting edge in teaching future legal professionals how TAP is used to manage and automate legal processes. Learning these skills will help prepare LegalRnD students to improve legal-service delivery in corporate legal departments, law firms, and other legal-services organizations.”
The first day of class will be August 29.
