Legal professionals can now earn an online certificate in legal innovation and technology, thanks to a program being launched by Suffolk University Law School in Boston.

A series of six courses will focus on teaching lawyers and other legal professionals how to deliver their services more effectively and efficiently. Those who complete all six courses will earn Suffolk’s legal innovation and technology certificate.

The first two courses will begin next summer, with another two released in the fall semester and the final two in the spring semester. Enrollment is open immediately.

The six courses are:

  • Legal Operations, taught by Lucy Bassli, assistant general counsel for legal operations and contracting at Microsoft.
  • Process Improvement & Legal Project Management, taught by Catherine Alman MacDonagh, founder and CEO of the Legal Lean Sigma Institute.
  • 21st Century Legal Profession, taught by Jordan Furlong, legal market analyst and forecaster.
  • Design Thinking for Legal Professionals, taught by Robert Taylor, vice president and senior corporate counsel at Liberty Mutual Insurance.
  • The Business of Delivering Legal Services, with the instructor to be determined.
  • Legal Technology Toolkit, taught by Erika Rickard, associate director of field research at the Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School.

The certificate program will be directed by Suffolk Professor Gabriel Teninbaum, who also directs Suffolk’s Institute on Legal Innovation and Technology. He told me that he and Suffolk Law Dean Andrew Perlman were inspired to start the program by the many practitioners who approached them asking where they could learn the types of skills Suffolk is teaching law students.

“The challenge is how someone who has graduated from law school can learn the skills that will help them remain competitive for the next 30-40 years of their career,” Teninbaum said. “We will offer high-quality content delivered by the world’s best experts in their respective areas.

Each course will run for 10 to 12 weeks and require about two to five hours of student time per week. Participants may take all six courses to earn a certificate or take individual courses.

The cost will be roughly $3,000 per course, with a discount for signing up for all six, Teninbaum said.

Additional information is available at legaltechcertificate.com.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.