Are you a lawyer who decided to venture into the world of tech and learn to code? Regardless of your goals, below are some easy & practical tips on how to start coding as a lawyer!
Why should lawyers learn to code?
I listed a nine reasons why lawyers should code here.
To sum up, coding can give you:
✅ boost in logical reasoning and legal proofreading
✅ better understanding of tech, algorithms, and AI
✅ clearer (and even smart(er)!) contracts
✅ and so much more!
CS50
Check out my lawyer’s review of CS50!
It is no secret I am a huge fan of the awesome free online Harvard computer science class. I think it is a great start for anyone who wants to learn from scratch. The foundation that you can build is super important.
Why take a general class if you already know that you want to build a specific thing?
If you learn a specific programming language, you can still get pretty far. On the other hand, it is the equivalent of me giving you a template without you going to law school (or doing some prior research online). You can fill in all the blanks and work with what you have been handed. But you won’t understand the case law and the statutes behind all the clauses.
Long story short: CS50 is a really great option.
I really want to learn something specific
If you just really really want to learn some specific use case, check out some of the below:
- Everything: browse FreeCodeCamp, Codecademy, Udemy, edX, or Coursera for what you are looking for
- Python: python is almost universal, super useful, and kind of easy to learn, a great option is CS50 Intro to Python or this bootcamp from Angela Yu
- Data: look into the above, Datacamp is also pretty neat
- Smart contracts: check out CryptoZombies or this 16 hour YouTube course from FreeCodeCamp (but I would really recommend to get build some foundation first)
- Web development: CS50 (I know!), or dedicated CS50 for Web Programming, or Scrimba
- iOS development: Beware, iOS dev is kinda hard (it was difficult for me even after taking CS50). Eventually, I absolutely loved this Udemy bootcamp by Angela Yu, which takes you from beginning to end and explains a lot of the foundational concepts as well.
This is just the stuff I personally liked to use and there is so much more out there. Google is your best friend here. If something doesn’t work – switch it! Most of these classes are totally for free so no big commitment needed.
I don’t feel like investing a lot of time yet
Try out some of the apps that gamify learning to code (I use Mimo!). Frankly, you will not learn everything (although it may be enough to write some super basic websites). It is just a great way how to slowly start flexing the coding muscle.
I also used it for revisions while doing a python bootcamp earlier this year to really burn some of the concepts into my brain with spaced repetition.
Final provisions
As you probably figured, I think CS50 is a great option for anyone starting out. But even if you choose anything else, just do whatever works for you and your study style.
The most important thing is to actually enjoy your learning process. It is the enthusiasm that will carry you through the rough moments when you just cannot figure out what has gone wrong.
Are you ready to take up coding? Let me know in a comment 👇
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