When I tell people I teach eDiscovery at IUPUI’s School of Informatics, they either nod politely or immediately check their phones. Fair. It’s not exactly cocktail party material. But here's the thing: if you're practicing law in 2025 and not keeping up with how technology is reshaping the courtroom and the discovery process, you’re doing your clients – and yourself – a disservice.

Technology Competence is Legal Competence

Legal rules are only part of the equation. Today’s matters often hinge on navigating vast volumes of electronically stored information (ESI) for document review or how short message data, such as communications via Slack or Teams can be collected and utilized in eDiscovery. These are no longer fringe issues when preparing for litigation; they can be central to your litigation strategy.

Remember ABA Model Rule 1.1? The one that requires lawyers to provide “competent representation” including keeping up with “the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology”? Understanding short message data, ephemeral messaging, and how Teams and Slack data show up in discovery are sometimes central to litigation strategy.

And at this point, if you don’t understand the tools, you can’t responsibly (or defensibly) use them. That’s not a knock. It's a reality check. And clients are paying attention. They expect legal teams to understand modern tools and speak the language of technology. It’s part of the value they expect. And this knowledge is the minimum requirement for staying relevant in a data-driven legal world. 

Law School Didn't Teach You This

Sometimes lawyers can take for granted that for so long, law school was basically the same decade over decade: Contracts, Torts, Con Law, and so on. And while more modern or technology-focused courses aren’t required or considered “black letter law” yet, many topics like eDiscovery, legal technology, and even AI are being offered as electives, and in some cases being integrated into the core curriculum.

Here are a few ways to stay current with CLEs, without relying on Junior Associates to just know it: 

• State and Local Bar Associations offer in-person and virtual CLEs tailored to regional legal developments.
  
  
• National Conferences like Legalweek and ILTAcon offer CLE credit alongside cutting-edge legal tech insights.
  
  
• Vendor-Hosted CLEs – Partners like Proteus(!) – provide sessions on topics such as digital forensics, ESI workflows, and AI in litigation.
  
  
• On-Demand Platforms like Lawline, Practicing Law Institute, and CLE Center let attorneys learn on their own schedule, across a wide range of practice areas.
  
  

Why this Matters Right Now

I’m not here to convince anyone to sign up for a CLE course. But I will say this: the legal world is changing whether we like it or not. We don’t get to opt out. Digital evidence is growing more complex, AI is playing a role in document review, and short message data is now a standard feature of discovery. If we want to be effective advocates, we can’t treat continuing education like a box to check once a year.

You don’t need to become some kind of technologist in order to understand these issues. Rather, knowing enough to know when to call in a team with experience with these emerging issues is key. Take the time to look at these resources and make sure to keep abreast of emerging communications technologies, because you can’t litigate what you don’t understand.