The Information Technology Lawyer
Is there a role for an Information Technology Lawyer in 2020?
At first glance, the question may look strange. If we are living in the Age of Information, in a more connected world than ever, why wouldn't there be? The answer is simple: because in the Age of Information, every lawyer must be something of an IT Lawyer and must have digital skills. In this context, the previous question may be re-written as: wouldn't the IT Lawyer be just a generalist? What makes this specialisation something different?
First, I believe it is all about the range of courses. You may study digital software taxation in a tax course, or digital currencies in banking law, or maybe smart contracts in business law, or cybercrime in criminal Law. But if you want to study all those topics together and others, such as robotics, artificial intelligence and telecommunications (think about the legal issues related to 5G), you must choose an LLM related to technology. Also, at least for me, the IT Law focus helps to achieve comprehensive legal reasoning on the subject and the courses complement each other.
Second, the fact that IT Law per passes many law domains does not make it less prominent, on the contrary, the field becomes more important, because it enables the IT Lawyer to work on many areas of the Law.
Finally, the LLM student may choose to focus on subareas, according to their preferences and the skills.
Regarding my motivation, I started taking this LLM for personal satisfaction and academic enrichment. Since I am a public servant, it does not grants me more money, and since I have a lifelong job, I am not looking for openings elsewhere. However, I am having opportunities to apply my learnings to my job, and people have been inviting me to give seminars and lectures or to write book chapters about IT Law topics.
Therefore, although the "Master of Laws" in "Information Technology Law" is not a title that will substantially change my professional status, it has been changing my academic standing. The fact that I already have a master's degree in Brazil, in Theory and Philosophy of Law, seems to help, but it looks clear that it is the focus on technology that people want to hear about. In other words, it is clear that there is a shortage of specialists in this field.
And if I were a lawyer, I don't think it would be difficult to find a job at a reputable law firm after this LLM.
Lastly, with the substantial increase in law and technology LLMs, before choosing, I would recommend interested students to look for feedback from alumni, as well as the overall reputation of the university and the law school, in case there is not yet time to assess the course's status.
