We are pleased to welcome a new Visiting Lecturer, Anrijs Šimkus, who will be teaching a new course, “Technology in Law: A Practical Introduction”, to Riga Graduate School of Law Bachelor students. Legal Technology is reshaping the practice of law and the delivery of legal services, offering new tools and approaches to enhance efficiency, accessibility, and innovation. This course introduces students to the evolving landscape of legal technology, its role in modern legal practice, and its impact on legal professionals, institutions, and clients.
The course explores both theoretical and practical dimensions of legal technology, including key concepts such as legal automation, document management and artificial intelligence in law. Special emphasis is placed on understanding how LegalTech supports legal reasoning, compliance, and decision-making processes.
Throughout the course, students will develop a foundational understanding of legal technology tools and critically assess the practical considerations of whether and how these tools can achieve their intended goals. As part of the practical component, students will learn to build simple applications using Microsoft PowerApps, designed to structure legal assessments based on a selected legal act. This hands-on experience will help students bridge the gap between legal knowledge and its practical application.
Anrijs Šimkus is a LegalTech specialist who combines legal expertise with programming skills to help law firms and businesses develop innovative, efficient solutions for delivering legal services and meeting regulatory requirements. He has worked at leading international law firms such as DLA Piper and Cooley, where he began his career in the Data Protection & Cybersecurity practice group. Over time, he transitioned into a broader role focused on LegalTech project development and contract automation. Most recently, he led firm-wide LegalTech initiatives as the Head of Legal Technology and Innovation at COBALT, a leading law firm in the Baltics. Anrijs holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Latvia and a Master’s degree in Intellectual Property and IT Law from KU Leuven.