The applications for the 2023 Bucerius Summer Program on Legal Technology & Operations are now open. I participated in the 2022 edition of the summer school and many of you have asked about how it was.
To address this demand, below are some of my insights on:
- What is the Bucerius Summer Program in Legal Tech and Operations,
- How demanding is it? Can it be done part-time?
- How to apply,
- What to know before you go,
- What does the schedule look like,
- Is it worth attending, and
- How similar is the Summer Program to the Legal Tech Essentials
Spoiler alert: I really, really, really liked it.
What is the Bucerius Summer Program in Legal Tech and Operations
The program is a three week long summer school on Legal Tech and Operations that takes place in Hamburg in July (see below).
It is taught by an international body of lecturers from both academia and practice. Every speaker was just on the top of their game. I have about 20 pages of notes (which is a lot for me), and routinely come back to them.
The topics vary by year, but the ones in 2022 included the following: artificial intelligence & law, data visualisation, digital justice, entrepreneurship, change management, legal operations, legal project management, and many others.
Coding was not a part of 2022 session, and even though I do code, our prototype (see below) was based on visuals in MarvelApp, so the most sophisticated tool we needed to use was Canva.
How demanding is the program?
It is intense. A real exercise in drinking from a fire hose, the program really is a more than full time activity.
On the other hand, as it is just three weeks, you just kind of power through, high on the feeling of just being there (and the maté from the local cafeteria and the great, great, great food on campus).
At the same time, I managed to get in a fair share of wandering around Hamburg (which is forever one of my favorite cities), and went to early morning yoga and late evening beer more than a few times.
But yes, I had to go on a couple days long vacation afterwards to recover a bit (and to explore the glorious North of Germany).
How to apply to the Bucerius Summer Program
The application process is pretty straightforward, and you can start here.
First of all there are a few questions regarding your motivation and previous experience.
What worked best for me was to copy paste them into a word document, including character limits, and work on them there, instead of the official application.
Secondly, if you know somebody that has attended the programme, who can speak to your abilities and added value, they can recommend you.
With respect to documentation, you need to supply your grades from university, and a proof of language capability, unless you qualify for an exemption.
If you do not qualify and do not have a brand new English certificate (like me), you will have an additional interview to prove that you can speak English well (which was kind and quick). The course is entirely in English and taught mainly by native speakers, so being very comfortable in the language is really important. You don’t need to speak German.
Make sure to also read through the official guidance on the Bucerius Website.
Do I need to know a lot about legal tech and operations before I apply?
In our student body, there were people like me (legal tech, legal design and legal operations are our daily bread and butter) as well as classmates, who were just getting into the field.
And I think that this was precisely one of the very beautiful things, because we got to learn from other people’s knowledge and perspectives.
For the avoidance of doubt, you don’t need to know how to code, but it can make things easier for you (here is how you can start). Some of the lectures can get a little technical. But if you don’t, you can always ask (your lecturers or your classmates!)
What is the schedule of the summer program?
The schedule is communicated a few weeks before the program. In essence, every day you have multiple blocks on different topics with different speakers. Within these sessions, they are either lecture based with opportunity to ask questions, or project-based, where you are tackling tasks.
In my year, we also had a visit in Berlin and Potsdam to discover multiple legal tech startups and the HPI Academy (the sister of the d.school with beautiful campus and great community).
Finally, we worked on our own project and presented it at the last day in a team. It is completely up to us, what we wanted to solve. After careful research, we did How might we motivate lawyers to consistently contribute to innovation and pro bono projects.
Is the Bucerius Summer Program worth it?
150%
The program is one of the best ways how to learn about legal tech and operations.
The speakers are great, the program is well organised, and you get to push yourself and your limits to really grow in just three weeks.
But that really isn’t the main selling point – the key difference is the community. At the Bucerius Campus in Hamburg, you will get to hang out with people who are interested in the same things.
And I can assure you that if the next cohort will be half as nice and bright the one in 2022, you will encounter the best vibing bunch of your life and so many people to learn from.
We are still in contact (we hold regular calls!), and while sometimes life gets in our way, whenever we talk, I just end up smiling so much, happy to see everyone.
You will also get to spend time with the lecturers, ask your questions and discover more than just what you can find on the internet. Plus the core team (Dan, Dirk, and Larry) are friendly, fun, knowledgeable, and really there for you.
Note on tuition: while the cost is somewhat steep (based on if you are student or not), many of us either obtained scholarship from the school or had the costs covered by an employer. Do not hesitate to explore your options!
How similar is it to the Legal Tech Essentials?
Since you have Bucerius on your radar, you might have heard about (or attended) the Legal Tech Essentials, an online set of lectures on all things legal technology and operations.
The summer program and the Essentials are, in my opinion, complementary:
- the speakers don’t necessarily overlap (to illustrate, there was only one speaker, David Cambria, from the summer session)
- the Essentials are broad one hour-ish introductions, while the Program goes much deeper, while also getting a lot more intense, unscripted, unrecorded time with the speakers
- you do the Essentials (probably) alone in your home, while the Program is full-on immersion with super-nice people.
In other words, you really can learn a lot from the Essentials themselves, but the Summer Program is next level.
Final Provisions
The Bucerius Summer Programme on Legal Technology and Operations is a great way how to deepen your understanding of legal tech and legal design. If you have the time and the interest, I wouldn’t hesitate.
Also if you are into designing your life and wondering, if you want to go back to school again, this is a great way how to prototype, if this would work for you without a massive upfront commitment.
Convinced? Start here.
If you have any other questions, let me know in the comments.
Baru
Disclaimer: this post was not sponsored, but I invited the admissions office to review it for a fact-check and made minor changes based on their recommendations. As always, they were really nice and ready to help.
