In a context marked by the almost total influence of the digital world in all spheres of life, training related to digital and technology is a precious added value in almost any professional field. “The Law is no exception. However, digital aspects in Law will not simply be a field of study, but Law will be digital”, says Marta García Pérez, coordinator of the Master’s Degree in Digital Law and Artificial Intelligence at the University of A Coruña, who bases her statement on the conclusions of a recent study carried out by researchers from the universities of Princeton, Pennsylvania and New York, who identify the legal services sector as the most exposed to artificial intelligence (AI).
Covadonga Ferrer Martín de Vidales, coordinator of the Master’s Degree in New Technology Law at the Complutense University of Madrid, agrees with this perception, for whom new technologies have revolutionized the way we interact and have opened the way to new legal relationships. “This is one of the fields where the most innovations have emerged in recent years, and where companies and professional firms have the greatest need to hire specialized lawyers,” she says.
In a short time this type of training will be a ‘sine qua non’ requirement to access many jobs
Marta García Pérez, coordinator of the Master’s Degree in Digital Law and Artificial Intelligence at the University of A Coruña
This demand has translated into the development of specialization degrees (masters and postgraduates) in the field of digital law, which attract the attention of both recent graduates —who seek to enter the labor market with a specialization under their arms— and already active legal professionals who seek to improve their professional expectations. “I don’t know if this type of training guarantees top professional opportunities, but I have no doubt that it opens doors to new professional opportunities and puts you in a better position in the job market”, points out García Pérez, for whom, if one takes into account the dizzying pace with which artificial intelligence is being implemented in all areas of life, “in a very short time this type of training will be a requirement sine qua non to access many jobs.
Professionals for new challenges
As Covadonga Ferrer points out, the degree in Law already provides students with some knowledge about the use of essential technological resources for their future professional practice. However, as Marta García Pérez points out, the digital key is not yet integrated with sufficient intensity in the degree. “I think that in the coming years digital law will be incorporated naturally into the training programs of the subjects, but in any case the degrees are short in duration and highly loaded with content, which prevents completing a training in digital law such as the one that, without a doubt, is required by the very important challenges that lie ahead,” he reflects.
Among these challenges, the coordinator of the Master’s Degree in New Technologies Law at the Complutense University of Madrid cites, for example, the protection of the fundamental rights of individuals and democracies. “We are faced with the dissemination of content that is harmful to minors and, above all, adolescents; of false information, especially in electoral periods, that seeks to influence the outcome of the elections; misleading advertising; online scams, etc. In all these multiple aspects, Law graduates with a training in digital law and new technologies can focus this training on the protection of the rights and interests of people ”, she argues.
Marta García Pérez, for her part, adds that artificial intelligence is posing “very important” challenges in many areas, from the perspective of intellectual property to public authorities, including the development of robots, autonomous driving systems, drones, etc. “Of course, AI poses a major challenge for all jurists, but with a special appeal to legal philosophers. We know that we will be late no matter how hard we try, because AI advances at an unattainable pace that has even worried its promoters, but we have an urgent need to establish legal rules that limit or delimit the field of action of AI”, points out the expert before adding that artificial intelligence can also cause a leap in productivity in the provision of legal services in the coming years similar to what computers or the internet caused in their day. “Of course, in that scenario, those firms that have brought in professionals with knowledge of digital law will have a significant advantage,” she concludes.
Cybercrime specialists
Along with the development of master’s degrees in Digital Law, titles are emerging that provide more specialized training in specific areas. An example is the university master’s degree on-line of Cybercrime of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), which, although more aimed at graduates in Criminology, also attracts the attention of quite a few Law graduates. “Cybercrime is addressed to a very little extent in Law degrees. In Criminal Law there is no time to address the study of the criminal types related to these behaviors, or it is done in a very marginal way. And the same happens in Procedural Law with respect to all the legal and jurisprudential development that has occurred recently on the prosecution of cybercrimes or evidence”, says Josep Maria Tamarit Sumalla, director of the master’s program, for whom the development and rise of digital crimes (ransomwareelectronic fraud, cyberbullying, hate crimes and defamation in social networks, infringements against intellectual property, etc.) requires lawyers with this specialization: “We have the challenge that, at least, the prevention and response to cybercrime do not lag far behind cybercriminals,” he stresses.
