Legal Technology in Legal Practice (975M3)
Legal Technology in Legal Practice
Module 975M3
Module details for 2026/27.
15 credits
FHEQ Level 7 (Masters)
Module Outline
Legal Technology in Legal Practice explores how legal technology is reshaping legal work. Students will examine opportunities (automation, research, drafting, analytics), challenges (ethics, bias, confidentiality, regulation), and real-world impact on courts, firms, legal advice centres and employment. Framed by human-centred design and inclusion, the module develops students’ ability to map workflow problems, evaluate tools and data responsibly, and imagine credible interventions that widen legal services while managing risk. By the end, students will be able to assess and build legal-tech solutions, articulate their social and professional value, and chart future-ready career pathways across the evolving justice ecosystem. The course will culminate in a mini-hackathon where students present their legal tech product they have been designing or building.
Module learning outcomes
Explain and compare how AI and legal-tech tools apply to core legal workflows (research, review, drafting, analytics) and identify credible use cases.
Evaluate risks and duties (ethics, bias, confidentiality, data protection and regulation) and propose concrete mitigations/assurance steps for a chosen use case.
Map and redesign a real legal workflow using human-centred design; prototype and test a responsible intervention (e.g., prompt/system mock-up) with basic evaluation evidence.
Develop and evaluate a practical intervention to address a defined justice problem
Communicate the social value, feasibility, and ethical risks of a digital intervention to an audience of peers and professionals
| Type | Timing | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | 60.00% | |
| Coursework components. Weighted as shown below. | ||
| Group Presentation | T2 Week 11 | 100.00% |
| Portfolio (1500 words) | Semester 2 Assessment Week 1 Mon 16:00 | 40.00% |
Timing
Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.
Weighting
Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.
| Term | Method | Duration | Week pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Semester | Seminar | 2 hours | 11111111111 |
How to read the week pattern
The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.
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