Relativity Delivers Hands-On e-Discovery Education to Australia

Written by PR Newswire

The University of New England is the first law school in Australia to partner with Relativity's global Academic Partner Program

CHICAGO and ARMIDALE, Australia, Oct. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Relativity ^[1], a global legal technology company, today announced it has partnered with The University of New England ^[2] (UNE) School of Law ^[3] in Australia, to provide hands-on e-discovery education to its law students. UNE is the first school in the APAC region to benefit from the success of Relativity's Academic Partner Program ^[4].

Launched in 2015, Relativity designed its Academic Partner program to meet the evolving needs of the legal industry, helping programs more easily integrate technology into their litigation and discovery curricula. The program has since established itself in 116 schools and reaches 4,000 students in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland. Relativity's academic partnerships are comprised of paralegal programs, law schools, and data science and cybersecurity programs. Relativity's Academic Partner program provides students with hands-on experience with RelativityOne ^[5] for complex litigation before working on real cases.

"Technology is an indispensable part of any legal team's toolkit, and it has changed the way we teach and practice law around the world. However, most lawyers' first encounter with legal technology doesn't occur until they're already working in the field," said Georgia Foster, Managing Director and Vice President of Sales, International at Relativity. "Our Academic Partner program equips the next generation of legal professionals, like those at UNE's School of Law, with advanced technical skills while still in school, making them more marketable in a competitive job market after graduation."

The UNE School of Law is Australia's largest and most experienced online law school with world standard research, allowing students to undertake Australian legal studies while continuing their careers or balancing their personal lives. UNE School of Law's unique mix of legal scholars, researchers, faculty, and highly regarded legal curriculum, combined with Relativity's partnership, will enable UNE law students to become RelativityOne proficient prior to joining professional organizations.

"As Australia's legal landscape evolves, clients expect their legal teams to rapidly adopt and master new technology while also handling complex litigation matters," said Dr. Anne Fitzgerald, Lecturer at UNE School of Law and Coordinator of the capstone unit, Technology and the Law. "Introducing students to e-discovery theory and legal technology software is an essential aspect of UNE's Technology and the Law unit. The quality of Relativity's e-discovery education program was brought to my attention by legal colleague and guest lecturer, Paul Armbruster, who was awarded the Futurist Award at the Corporate eDiscovery Hero Awards in New York in 2020. Relativity's Academic Partner program offers excellent opportunities for UNE law students to learn and understand the importance of e-discovery in the legal process, and to equip themselves with the practical skills they need to deal with real-world challenges when working in the legal industry."

As part of the partnership, Gulsun Demirel, UNE School of Law alumna and Community and Customer Enablement Manager at Relativity, will serve as guest lecturer for the program.

"As an alumna of UNE, I am thrilled to showcase RelativityOne to its students as the first university in Australia to receive in-depth training and real-world experience, while sharing my journey into legal technology following my studies," said Demirel. "RelativityOne is a critical tool for many of the world's top law firms, corporations, and government agencies as they prepare for litigation in their pursuit of justice. Thanks to our partner program, students can begin their careers with confidence knowing they have the skills to navigate the technology effectively throughout the e-discovery process and jump into legal work immediately."

Additional information about Relativity's Academic Partner program can be found here ^[6]. Universities interested in becoming a Relativity Academic Partner should contact academic@relativity.com ^[7].

About Relativity

Relativity makes software to help users organize data, discover the truth and act on it. Its SaaS product, RelativityOne, manages large volumes of data and quickly identifies key issues during litigation and internal investigations. Relativity has more than 300,000 users in approximately 40 countries serving thousands of organizations globally primarily in legal, financial services and government sectors. Please contact Relativity at sales@relativity.com or ^[8] visit www.relativity.com for more information.

About University of New England

UNE is the oldest university in Australia established outside a capital city and is the longest continuous provider of online education. UNE's primary campus is located in Armidale, a vibrant regional city in the picturesque New England Tableland region of northern New South Wales, with a second campus in Parramatta, Sydney. More than 22,000 students are enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate coursework and higher degree research programs across fields of study that include arts, humanities, education, health, nursing, business, law, environmental science, rural science, and technology.