P2P

15 I L T A N E T . O R G L earning to code has become a big thing for lawyers. For this, we can thank the explosion of interest in legal tech over the past four or five years. Quite rightly, legal educators and regulatory bodies have realised that technology is changing the practice of law and that people entering the profession with the right skills will quickly get ahead in the new world. But is coding really one of those skills? Don't get me wrong, I personally think, and in fact encourage, lawyers to code if: • There is a clear benefit to their career, their practice area or their Firm in general; or • It is something they are truly interested in. Not because it is the latest fad. In a nutshell, digitally literate? Absolutely! Learning Javascript, HTML, CSS? Maybe not (unless the above applies). Promoting coding as an essential part of a professional skillset is misguided. In particular, it stems from an outdated view of the software tools available to lawyers with ambitions to be creative with technology. KPMG's Visitor Assist Application As an example, look at a product developed KPMG. It's an app designed to assess and manage the obligations created by business visitors to Australia. Employees can conveniently record travel plans and receive instant pre-travel instructions regarding their visas and tax obligations. The application has been designed to significantly reduce the burden on in-house resources in the management of tax and immigration details for employees, in line with regular legislative change, whilst ensuring minimum interruption to the traveller or business. It's a sophisticated and extensive piece of software but surprisingly wasn't built from scratch with a traditional programming method - it was all developed using Neota Logic's no-code, rapid-development platform. No-Code Platforms No-code platforms enable users to rapidly build and deploy enterprise-ready digital applications without touching lines of code. It's the ability to automate and streamline internal and external business processes without prior knowledge of Javascript, HTML, SQL, CSS or other programming languages. By avoiding the requirements for highly specialised development, users are able to leverage no-code platforms to enable rapid delivery of digital solutions with minimal upfront investment in set- up, training, building and deployment. By using no-code platforms, digital applications can be built in a matter of days and weeks, rather than months or even years. There is a further added benefit of removing yourself as the middle person between the subject matter expert and IT in application development. Be the one to not only create the requirements, but also the architect! Over the past few months, we have increasingly seen lawyers implement solutions that previously might have taken years (or been blocked entirely!) thanks to the legal industry's sense of professional caution and institutional structures which tend to resist change. An example This 'can do' attitude is here to stay. Let's look at one example of how a top-tier law firm utilised the Neota Logic platform and introduced a COVID Estate Planning Solution which enables a radical shift in working practices in the

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