Hear what students had to say about the clinic!

“Participation in the Lawyering In The Digital Age Clinic should be mandatory for all Columbia Law School students…Students learn how to apply data science, predictive coding, and machine learning to their work. Experts visit the clinic often and help students gain mastery of technology-assisted document review and legal project management software. More importantly, the clinic gives students the opportunity to put these tools to use with exciting, community-oriented projects…Another group helped the Western New York Law Center in Buffalo overhaul its client relationship management system. This work helped quadruple the Buffalo clinic’s capacity to assist residents with various legal projects such as starting a small business, avoiding bankruptcy or foreclosure, and gaining access to government resources connected to the COVID-19 pandemic…Familiarity with legal technology and data analysis tools accelerated my career. It earned me invitations to contribute to important casework and helped me adapt to working in both the private and public sectors. Technology is changing the way we practice law. Participating in the Lawyering In The Digital Clinic is the best way for a student to master the tools and gain the skills that are a necessary element of a successful lawyer’s career.”- Ian Harris ’21

“Apart from having a fantastic experience being mentored by Conrad, Mary, and Brian (who are all, without question, some of the most thoughtful and committed professors at CLS), I can’t stress enough how extraordinary this clinical opportunity is for law students to make a meaningful contribution…During my semester in the LDA clinic, my team worked with the Legal Aid Society’s Housing Division to integrate technology into their attempts to properly represent the flood of new clients requesting mandated representation under the “Right to Counsel” initiative, which will become even more crucial in the months and years ahead in order to protect those experiencing housing instability. At first, this seemed like an insurmountable goal, but thanks to the training provided in the clinic, my team was thoroughly equipped with all the tools necessary to be successful in our endeavors. So whether it’s working on projects assisting legal organizations or charter schools or small businesses, for example, there is plenty of room to make an impact in this ever-increasing Digital Age thanks to the LDA clinic. I truly couldn’t imagine graduating law school without having had the privilege of being part of this wonderful tight-knit community!” – Malina Welman ’20

“…in each class Mary, Brian and Conrad discuss different technological developments as they relate to the legal field. This is useful in part because you learn about the different tools at your disposal in both transactional and litigation contexts, but you also learn how to make yourself marketable in a legal market that increasingly requires associates to have more tech know-how…I was able to use the information and skills I learned in this clinic to meet my pro bono hours requirement for [New York State] and even applied this knowledge to my pro bono work at my law firm [during] my 2L summer. The Lawyering in the Digital Age clinic is highly rewarding and I recommend it to anyone interested in…the intersection between tech and the law, or simply helping others.” – Amanda Estep ’20

“Conrad, Mary, and Brian demonstrate consistently throughout the entire semester how much they genuinely care about the learning and development of their clinic students. Their goal is to instruct students on how to be effective and successful while lawyering in the changing environment of a digital world, and they do so with focus and care on each student’s development. What you are given is not just a great semester of instruction, but three mentors who will be happy to give advice and answer your questions for years to come.” – Danielle Arthur ’18

“Lawyering in the Digital Age offered a unique opportunity to seriously consider the future of the legal profession with knowledgeable professors. While this was an amazing experience in and of itself, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of attention payed to the value and mechanics of teamwork. This twin focus on the future of technology in law and the value of teamwork were vindicated by the productive experience of working with the New York Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings to revamp their mediation website.” – Nathan Gilbert ’17

“In addition to learning about tenants’ rights and the laws of rent stabilization, we learned how to interview and counsel clients in class, and right away found ourselves doing that out in the field” – Ryan Toteja ’07

“LDA is easily one of the most transformative courses I’ve taken while in law school. While I’ve always been interested in the intersection of law and technology especially after working with Google’s Legal team, LDA opened my eyes to various inroads technology is (and will) make in the legal profession — and how I can be professionally proactive with this change. The professors interest in developing our skills as a lawyer, in the broadest sense, allowed me to gain invaluable feedback on ways I can improve and what skills to enhance.  One of the key themes from our class  – ‘operating from the top of your license,’ meaning that you drive the change in your environment, rather than react to the change – has become my guiding mantra.” – Lilybelle Davis ’18

 “I knew when I signed up for the Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic that I would be entering new territory in terms of expectations for responsibility and creativity. It was a great experience, and I feel ready for anything now. It is very satisfying to work directly for clients and at the same time to be having an impact on the way law is practiced.” – Brian Agboh ’03

“Lawyering in the Digital Age was the highlight of my law school experience! As someone deeply interested in the interactions between people and their technologies, I loved the clinic’s exploration of the ways tech is altering the legal profession, and how we as law students work with those changes. Getting the opportunity to self-reflect and critique client interactions in depth not only increased my skills, but also gave me valuable techniques for improving in the future.  If you want an engaging, topical, and supremely useful clinical experience at Columbia Law, take Lawyering in the Digital Age!” – Michael Rosenbloom ’17

“After a year of learning theory in the classroom, the clinic has helped me reinforce why I went to law school” – Rina Varizani ’07

“I loved the fact that we got some hands-on experience working at a clinic in a wide range of issues. From housing court to even interviewing skills. I learned a lot from Conrad, Brian, and Mary and the clinic felt like our own small community within CLS. ” – Paloma Luz ’17