As law schools broaden their curricula to include courses on topics such as e-discovery, automation, and generative AI, graduates are still largely left to forge their own paths into legal technology roles. A recent report from Legaltech News suggests that while institutions are acknowledging the role of technology in legal practice, few actively encourage or prepare students for careers in the legal tech industry.

That gap is familiar to many recent graduates. “That’s been a longtime criticism of law schools: that they don’t actually do much to prepare you for the practice of law,” said Sarah Johansson, head of legal product at legal tech startup Theo AI. Johansson, who earned an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2023, said that roles in legal technology were never presented as a viable career path. “I genuinely thought the only two avenues for me were going into a law firm or working in government,” she said.

Johansson noted that while research tool providers like LexisNexis and Westlaw maintained a presence on campus, law schools offered little exposure to the business or operational side of legal technology. That absence, she said, leaves many students unaware of alternative roles that blend law and innovation.

Industry observers say this gap reflects law schools’ enduring emphasis on theory over practice. Ed Walters, chief strategy officer at vLex and adjunct law professor at Georgetown University, said most institutions see their mission as teaching the academic discipline of law rather than training students for specific sectors. “I don’t think law schools see it as their job to prepare students for careers in legal technology,” Walters said. “Their mission really is to train students to think like a lawyer.”

Even as schools add courses on AI and legal innovation, Walters said, the focus is typically on technology literacy—how to understand and evaluate new tools—rather than hands-on preparation for careers in startups or legal tech companies. “The most valuable attribute they can have is curiosity,” he added.

That perspective is echoed by Patrick Eveland, general manager for government legal markets at Thomson Reuters. He said increasing exposure to AI tools in law school coursework may indirectly steer some students toward legal tech roles, even if that’s not the schools’ intent. “By default you’re seeing the curriculum change,” Eveland said. “Even though they’re not intentionally driving students toward legal tech careers, just being exposed to it naturally shows them other ways to solve problems.”

Still, experts note that lasting change may depend on whether law schools see technology as fundamental to the practice of law rather than as an ancillary topic. For now, students interested in legal tech will likely continue to chart their own paths—often outside the boundaries of traditional career counseling or recruitment programs.