Nathan J. Corr

Could this be one of our most timely conversations yet? From co-founding Scotland’s first university-affiliated Legal Tech Society to qualifying as a corporate lawyer and now working as a Legal Engineer, Nathan’s journey demonstrates how many possibilities exist at the intersection of law and technology.

We hope you enjoy reading this conversation as much as we did!

Q: Your career has taken you from co-founding a Legal Tech Society to corporate law and now legal engineering. Looking back, what first sparked your interest in the intersection of law and technology, and did you ever imagine your career would follow this path?

I have always been interested in technology and the law as two separate fields. The thing that married the two was applying for training contracts back in 2019. Most of the applications included a question to the effect of: “How is Legal Tech changing the legal industry?”. I didn’t really know what “Legal Tech” was at the time… This sparked the idea to set up the Legal Tech Society - inviting speakers to the university to teach myself and fellow students about Legal Tech. This initiative led to opportunities to work at various Legal Tech startups, as well as meeting the absolute superstars that are Amy Conroy and Annabel Pemberton. The three of us went on to start Law School 2.0 together - where we have educated more than 5,000 people in 54+ countries around the world to date.

I’d love to say there was some kind of master plan for my path… but the truth is I’ve never tried to pre-determine my path. The key for me has always been curiosity. When I started on my journey “Legal Engineer” wasn’t a job title, and Wordsmith AI didn’t yet exist. Opportunities will present themselves along your own path that you couldn’t have foreseen. If you stay curious and make the most of every opportunity that comes your way - the path you walk will be far more exciting than the path you plan.

Q: You’ve spent much of your career championing legal technology. What do you think aspiring lawyers often misunderstand about legal technology, and how can they best prepare for a profession that’s evolving so rapidly?

My answers to these two questions are slightly at odds. There are many misconceptions about Legal Tech, but I think the most common misconception is that it is about the tech - it’s not. Technology is just one potential solution to a given problem. Before you even think about tech as a solution - consider the problem at hand. Why do you feel like you need a tech solution? What is the problem? Is it a process problem? Is it a people or education problem? Take time to ask lots of questions before looking at solutions. Map-out processes end-to-end - identify problems and inefficiencies. If applicable, get your whole team involved. Once you deeply understand the problem at hand, only then start to consider possible solutions.

However… for aspiring lawyers looking to prepare for an ever changing world - understanding the technology and staying at the edge of new developments is a great way to stand out from the crowd and prepare yourself for the future. Law firms and in-house legal teams are increasingly looking for talent with deep expertise in technology. Watch youtube videos; listen to podcasts (like ‘The Legal Engineer’ by Wordsmith AI); read articles (like Elly Meenan’s ‘Legal Engineering 101’ substack); and most importantly - use the tech. Playing with Claude / Gemini / ChatGPT (and more) is a great way to get started and begin to understand the infrastructure that the future of the legal industry will be built on.

Developing a mindset that focuses on the problem first, with a deep understanding of technology as a potential solution, will stand you in good stead for the rapidly evolving legal industry.

Q: If you were beginning your legal career again today, in a world where AI is becoming part of daily legal practice, what might you do differently?

With the tools available today, I would be a lot more proactive with building. At the moment I am using Lovable to create interactive wedding invitations for my upcoming weddings in Uruguay and Scotland (to the same amazing woman for the avoidance of doubt…); using Claude to plan a trip to Egypt; and using Wordsmith AI to organise my work life (it’s far more than just a legal AI tool).

Whether I was a student, trainee, or junior lawyer - I would look at what projects and tasks I am working on day-to-day, and explore what I can build using AI to make my life not just easier, but more enjoyable.

To bring this full-circle - the key is curiosity. Curiosity leads to exploration; exploration leads to learning; learning leads to opportunity. If you are curious and make the most of every opportunity in front of you - you will go far. Stay curious!

You can follow Nathan on LinkedIn here to keep up with his work at Wordsmith AI and learn more about his career journey!