Laurèn Hobler ’21 knew Hofstra Law was the perfect place for her to pursue her legal tech education the moment she stepped foot on campus. “I really enjoyed the way the professors and the students presented themselves, it created a community atmosphere.”
As someone who had already had previous experience working with tech startups she saw legal tech as a way to combine her passion for both technology and law. “I’m someone who likes to create change but not necessarily within simply the practice of law. When I thought to myself ‘Laurèn what do you want to do in the legal profession?’ I did not just see the practice of law as an attorney or just firms and courts. I really saw the entire legal ecosystem.”
“The technology can really help to create an accommodating workplace by providing features within the technology for disabled attorneys or other language barriers that prevent access to justice. I think that, that kind of need for change and room for growth is what excites me to be in the legal profession. Especially within legal tech and advocating for that kind of change.”
During her law school journey she took legal tech and legal research courses that helped prepare her for her work in the field now. “The legal tech course that I took was a really great exposure to some of the areas within legal tech. I commend the professors there that teach legal research because that is contingent on legal technology. Those courses combined helped me see a trajectory in legal tech and helped me prepare for some of those skills that I would need going into that. ”
In 2018, Laurèn participated in Hofstra Law’s Legal Tech Boot Camp, a single-day educational and networking experience focused on the role of technology in the practice of law and the professional opportunities available to those with the skills and interest to engage with legal tech. Opportunities like this along with challenging course work from her professors allowed her to become immersed in the field. “It helped me grow my network, and realize what kind of legal tech software was out there to be able to facilitate my own research.”
Her various internships helped her gain a better appreciation for legal tech. “It also allowed me to see a great need for technology because there were a lot of ways that I felt things could be automated and felt things could really be simplified for legal work. I started envisioning how I would facilitate certain technological software. I started to create ideas in my head for apps and software that could be utilized.”
Her advice to current students wanting to pursue a career in legal tech is to seek out extracurricular activities that will help add to their educational experience. Whether it be through an externship that will help build “skills that cannot be cultivated in the classroom” or through getting “certifications in different technologies that will put them ahead of the game” once they graduate.
For the future, her hopes are set high for the world of legal tech. “What excites me most is that there is so much room for change within the legal profession.” She believes that new legal technology can provide a more diverse, accommodating environment for all parties involved. “The technology can really help to create an accommodating workplace by providing features within the technology for disabled attorneys or other language barriers that prevent access to justice. I think that, that kind of need for change and room for growth is what excites me to be in the legal profession. Especially within legal tech and advocating for that kind of change.”
Laurèn currently works as a Compliance Associate for the investment firm Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb.
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