Increasingly, MSL graduates are choosing to pursue careers in law – they are starting to find themselves as in-demand professionals in a variety of legal-tech, legal operations, and other positions in the legal industry. There are more opportunities for MSL grads in law than ever before, thanks in part to massive changes in the legal market and the unique training that MSL students receive. A great example of a successful MSL grad working in law is Eric DeChant. Eric is working in the rapidly-expanding field of legal-tech, and he is also a registered patent agent. The MSL program helped Eric find this new professional direction, which was a pivot from an eclectic series of other interesting jobs Eric held before the MSL program.

Eric works as a legal engineer at xMentium, a legal-tech company focusing on contracts and negotiations. xMentium’s software helps deals get done faster and with more control.

Never one to sit still, Eric has founded the American Society of Legal Engineers (ASLE) to design and promote a new career path for people eager to blend law and technology. He writes a blog (see below) for ASLE and helps to connect aspiring legal engineers to career opportunities in this growing area.

On his ASLE blog, Eric recently wrote about VillageMD, a company we also profiled in the MSL Alumni Newsletter: Health Edition. Eric discusses VillageMD’s innovative approach to in-house legal services, including its hiring of numerous MSL graduates to staff its legal department.  We encourage you to take a look at Eric’s piece, “Legal Engineer Spotlight: Custom-Built Legal Technology Systems at VillageMD, a Scaling Healthcare Provider.”

Eric is a pioneer in the field, and we are proud that the MSL has played a role in steering him toward his current path. We look forward to working with Eric (and others) to continue the push for STEM professionals to work in the legal field through positions in legal ops, legal-tech, and the legal industry more generally.