Legal Technology and Legal Innovation

In this summer course students will gain a better understanding of the concepts of legal technology and legal innovation as well as the importance of these concepts in the evolution of the legal world.

They will understand the basic principles of the programming language Python and will be able to apply these principles in simple coding exercises.

They will learn to code a decision tree, a mechanism that is daily used by lawyers, sometimes without being aware of it. Students will understand how a computer makes decisions and how it can make predictions by using so called explaining algorithms. That way students will also gain insights in how a computer can predict judicial decisions.

Students will also meet several legal start-ups and will understand the opportunities of legal technology and legal innovation in the business and customer services of these start-ups.

One of these opportunities are the so called smart contracts. The concept of smart contracts will be analysed. The following questions are addressed:

• What is a smart contract?
• What is the legal value of a smart contract?
• What are the legal difficulties that might arise using a smart contract?

Besides this, students will also learn about the technical aspects of a smart contract and will learn how to put the basic principles of coding a smart contract into practice.

Finally, the students will gain a better understanding of the concept of legal design thinking, in which a multidisciplinary frame is used to present and approach legal problems and legal services in an innovative and customer friendly way. Students will also apply the basic principles of legal design thinking in short exercises.

The course will end with a “LegalTech Game”. Participants who successfully pass this test after continuous class participation will receive a certificate of completion.

Your application should be submitted before 15 May (Non-EU nationals or visa applicants) or 15 July (EU Nationals).

Applications are submitted and processed through the enrolment platform Mobility Online. They are evaluated by the academic committee and the programme coordinators. All applicants will be notified about the results of selection within 10 days after the final application deadline.

In case your application is accepted, you will receive further practical information on payment and visa. Note that your registration is only complete when the tuition fee is received on the university's bank account.

Accepted participants will be registered as regular students of the University of Antwerp and will hence receive a student account which gives them access to the catering facilities and the Wi-Fi network of the University of Antwerp. Furthermore, accepted participants will be automatically insured under the policy of the University of Antwerp.