Here at Shree Engineering, we understand the language of quality, precision, and safety. Whether we’re manufacturing leading edge aerospace components, or specialized medical devices, our customers expect perfection under tight tolerances. It’s a philosophy that we carry through in every aspect of our business, in every industry we serve.
But there is another field where an eye for quality, an obsession with precision, and commitment to safety are not just expectations; they are requirements. You might think this is an article about aviation, medical manufacturing, or similar high-tech industries. You’d be wrong.
We’re talking about the world of legal IT. Just as aerospace and medical devices demand nothing but the best, so too does the legal sector. Anything less than perfection simply won’t do. The fact of the matter is that the eDiscovery technological universe is unusually unpredictable. As an industry, eDiscovery is constantly adapting and evolving, moving out into new areas like predictive coding and artificial intelligence. This affects every part of the legal cycle, from how data is captured and examined, to how it’s presented in court.
That said, the profession also has some very specific requirements and expectations of its own. As an industry, cause and effect relationships are explicitly defined. This is the kind of work that law firms rely on to stay out of jail.
The problem with this for IT professionals is that it creates a huge and continuing skills shortage. Even the largest firms have trouble finding qualified candidates. There are gaps at every level, from entry-level support to mid-level and senior positions. This is partly due to the rapid pace of change. The skills and technology that were cutting edge three years ago are no longer industry standards, let alone best practices. In fact, the industry is losing ground. The eDiscovery Technology Assessment report from 2015 showed that firms were steadily trailing behind clients in their technological capabilities.
For engineers, the world of legal IT offers a rich opportunity. With strengths in design, development, problem-solving, and project management, engineers are ideally suited to the unique challenges of the legal sector.
If you’re an engineering professional, and/or you want to transfer your skills over to legal IT jobs, you’ll find loads of industry information in this article. From salary ranges to career paths, we’ll have everything you need to know about the world of legal IT in one place.
We hope this action-packed look at legal IT helps you make the right choices for your career. Read on to discover more about this fascinating profession, and what it takes to bring your engineering talents into the world of legal IT…