From massive data breaches to controversial data gathering, technology is evolving rapidly. But how such advancements fall under current regulations can pose a myriad of complex questions.  

Georgetown Law wants to train future lawyers and nonlawyers to help navigate this area. 

On Monday, the Washington, D.C.-based law school announced a new Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in technology law and policy, as well as a similar master's degree for nonlawyers both scheduled to start this fall. 

Alexandra Givens, a Georgetown Law professor and founding executive director of its Institute for Technology Law & Policy, said the degrees were needed as tech evolves rapidly and organizations grapple with existing policy. Noting Georgetown Law currently offers various tech law courses, Givens said the LL.M. "is intended for people that want to specialize in that type of law." 

The LL.M. program will focus on teaching attorneys how to address new legal, ethical and societal questions that appear alongside tech development and deployment. Those budding challenges include information privacy law; First Amendment law in the digital age; the law of ethics and automation, AI and robotics; health information technology; and other issues.

Meanwhile, the new master's program won't require a law degree or tech background but it will include truncated courses explaining constitutional law, contracts and torts and other similar 1L courses, Givens noted. Like the LL.M. program, the master's program will also include courses detailing information privacy law, governing emerging technology, law enforcement utilizing technology, and surveillance and competition policy challenges in technology.

Participants in the LL.M. and master's program will take 24 credits during a one-year full-time enrollment or take two to three years if completing the program part time.

The need for the new LL.M. and master's program was sparked by student and market demand, Givens said, noting that elected officials and government agencies are seeking counsel to update tech law and regulation. Indeed, a federal lawmaker last year noted the stalemate over a national data privacy law wasn't due to partisan politics, but partially stemmed from lawmakers not understanding technology well.

Likewise, businesses and public interest organizations are seeking advocates who can address new legal, ethical and societal challenges that arise from technology, she said.

And, as companies develop and leverage advanced technology, law firms are bolstering their ranks with lawyers that can offer regulatory insights and counsel clients through the evolving landscape. A 2019 article in The Recorder found many Big Law firms are building their cybersecurity and data privacy practice groups with lateral hiring from competing firms and recruiting from government agencies. Givens said it's a hiring need that also includes nonlawyers in congressional and regulatory agencies, which is why Georgetown Law developed a master's program for nonlawyers.

To be sure, many U.S. and England-based law schools have implemented courses concerning legal tech, including Columbia Law School and a Brigham Young University-University of Arizona collaboration. New York-based Albany Law School and the SUNY Polytechnic Institute also launched an "innovation clinic" last year to bring law school students and tech majors together to develop, patent and commercialize tech.

Still, most law schools don't provide a separate degree regarding technology. However, that may change. Given the market demand, Givens said the need for specialization concerning tech and its interaction with policy in the field won't go away any time soon.