LONDON, June 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

A new course being run by The University of Manchester School of Law this January will teach law students how to re-imagine the delivery of legal services. The University has partnered with Neota Logic and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer ('Freshfields') to offer participants the opportunity to learn how to build smart applications that improve access to justice.

The course, Legal Tech and Access to Justice, will be introduced in this coming academic year as an optional module for undergraduate students in final year and has been made possible by Freshfields' generous sponsorship of the software licence and course materials. As part of the capstone project for the semester, students will engage with non-profit organisations that promote access to justice to build an application that is specific to their needs - to drive efficiency in the organisation and free up resources. Through the subject, students will learn how technology can be used to provide fast and accurate answers to common legal problems.

Freshfields hosted a legal apps hackathon last week in Frankfurt, also with Neota Logic.

Isabel Parker, Chief Legal Innovation Officer at Freshfields, said: "As the landscape of legal service delivery continues to evolve, an important priority for us is training the next generation of lawyers to be confident in using tools like Neota, which both allow us to support our clients' digital agendas and to leverage the most innovative technology."

With the introduction of the SQE fast approaching, the University of Manchester has been exploring ways to take advantage of the flexibility this new format gives to institutions to offer courses in innovation and technology to law students. Professor Toby Seddon, Head of the Law School said "We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with Neota Logic and Freshfields on this exciting new course for our undergraduate students. We're proud that Manchester is leading the way amongst UK universities in introducing legal technology into the LLB curriculum. The world of legal services is changing and law students need to be learning about it."

"Legal technology has seen a surge in interest lately, and we don't see that trend slowing down," said Maeve Lavelle, Director of Education at Neota Logic, EMEA. "Manchester have a robust legal tech pipeline for their students. We're very excited to be working with them and Freshfields to bring our educational programme to the UK for the first time and give students the opportunity to explore legal careers outside of the traditional path."

Notes to the editor: 

Neota Logic has offices in New York, London and Melbourne. The company's award-winning technology consists of an AI-powered platform and comprehensive toolset that allows professionals to rapidly build and deploy application solutions that automate their expertise, increasing productivity, improving client satisfaction and creating new business opportunities. http://www.neotalogic.com

The University of Manchester is a university of world firsts and academic discoveries - from splitting the atom to creating the first stored program computer. The School of Law is ranked 28^th in the world and 6^th in the UK for Law in the Times Higher Education World Rankings; we are committed to delivering internationally recognised education and a stimulating environment for research and business collaborations. We offer a rich student experience to those who study with us and the opportunity to make a positive contribution to the legal and societal challenges facing the world. https://www.law.manchester.ac.uk/   

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Freshfields is a global law firm with a long-standing track record of successfully supporting the world's leading national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments on ground-breaking and business-critical mandates. Our 2,800 plus lawyers deliver results worldwide through our own offices and alongside leading local firms.  Our commitment, local and multi-national expertise and business know-how means our clients rely on us when it matters most.

Media contacts: 

Maeve Lavelle, Neota Logic, lavelle@neotalogic.com, 07835461842

Andrew Pantaleo, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, andrew.pantaleo@freshfields.com ,  02074273242

William Bevin-Nicholls, The University of Manchester School of Law, william.bevin-nicholls@manchester.ac.uk , 01612750347

Teaching and Learning contact: 

Claire McGourlay, The University of Manchester School of Law, claire.mcgourlay@manchester.ac.uk, 01612750347

SOURCE Neota Logic