Future Lawyers Will Train Like Astronauts.

Susskind predicts that lawyers will train like Astronauts with VR. Legal futurist Richard Susskind shares my view that VR glasses are suitable for much more than spatial visual training for members of the military and astronauts. While these professionals navigate real space and time, and operate complex machinery such as jet aircraft and space vehicles, lawyers navigate courtrooms, and interact with other lawyers, judges, juries and clients. Some of my most beneficial law school training didn't come from long nights reading case law out of a book. We had trial practice training also, and pretended to try cases in real courtrooms. But, that kind of training is expensive and requires a large group of people focused on one matter during a semester of training. VR has the promise of creating such environments inside a headset, and the power of AI can bring a realistic edge to practical training. When dial up access to the Internet and computer video cameras became available in the last century, I saw the promise of a future in which I could be a lawyer in the cloud, conducting hearings and consultations while sitting at my desk looking at a computer screen. I saw the benefits of not having to hop in a car, drive to a courthouse, park the car, walk to a courtroom, sit waiting on a hearing, and then going back to the office. Look at us now.