My Enterprise Story: Legal Engineer and Business Founder

Posted on: 27 January 2023 by Richard Finch in Enterprise

Jonathan Blackhurst is a Class of 2021 Law graduate working as a Legal Engineer for Anthony Collins Solicitors who has also set up his own business.

HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE ROLE?

A learned about roles like this through a third-year module on artificial intelligence and the future of legal services. I discovered alternative career routes other than a law training contract. Legal engineering is an upcoming job that sits at the interface between law and technology. When I saw an advert on a job board and applied for it!

TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR JOB

I am part of a team working in digital transformation, technology, and change. I am responsible for improving legal processes, document automation, and building internal and external software tools. My role involves using coding and legal skills to automate processes and develop new products.

HOW DID YOU GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?

I got to my position by being genuinely interested in my topic area. I was curious about how things work and breaking the status quo.

Through constantly learning, inside and outside of work, I am now setting up my own business which focuses on improving access to justice through automation, product development and technology. My business is currently targeting law clinics and we are planning to expand to small and medium sized law firms.

YOUR FAVOURITE EXPERIENCE AS PART OF YOUR ROLE?

My favourite part of the role is the people I get to meet from partners to legal assistants. I get to listen to their problems and build products or solutions to solve them. It is rewarding when you work on building a product for months and it makes people's lives easier.

THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF YOUR GRADUATE JOURNEY?

The most challenging part of my journey is the uncertainty of the new role. Not many people have a depth of experience and the communities to learn from are small. It took me months and lots of learning to figure out what my job consisted of as it varied a great deal. This also meant that there were vast amounts of information to learn from legal processes, managing and running projects, and programming. This is also a positive as it makes it exciting, novel and on the forefront of innovation.

TOP THREE TIPS FOR OTHER STUDENTS?

1. Always be eager to learn - make notes in every meeting. Be curious - ask questions (even if you think they are stupid) to clarify your knowledge.
2. Take on responsibility even if you don't feel equipped for it as there are always people to help you.
3. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes