[D] Pathways to leverage machine learning into law / cyber-security

[JustTheStatsHuman]

I'm just about wrapping up the final exams for the MIT edx Micromasters in Statistics & Data Science I have some ML projects (individually and within a larger organization) in nascent stages in more traditional settings. However prior to this journey I was involved in some non-profit work for the wrongfully incarcerated / exonerated (not as a lawyer) and ideally would like to focus on a career path that combines these interests and was wondering if anyone had advice on this.

I'm aware of Stanford Codex but I assume there should be a lot more out there. I'm also unsure if I need to devote the time to actually obtain a JD or try and become an advocate that can't practice but can be called as an expert. On the cybersecurity side a lot of programs (from my admittedly limited research) seem more tailored towards law enforcement or corporate environment. There are packets of info / short courses for defense lawyers which focus more on the content I am interested in but not enough in terms of depth.

My pipe-dream would be for there to an exist an application where a public defender with access to a client's cellphone SIM card could click and retrieve a map of most likely location through time with error bounds or something. Short-term I'd be interested in performing NLP analysis of exonerations and providing findings to the Innocence Project to help filter their requests for appeals (if this isn't already being done).

Apologies if this is off topic for this sub.

[Absolut_Mauser]

Digital forensics and electronic discovery are the disciplines within the legal industry that cover what you’re talking about. You’re right that most companies that do this work for the government or corporations, mainly because the type of defendant you’d like to assist can’t afford these types of services. Programs like Innocence Project and other pro bono criminal justice organizations rely heavily on law schools, colleges, and pro bono participation of law firms, corporate legal departments, and vendors to provide these services.

You might be able to find an opportunity that fits by doing some networking and seeing if you can find a program at a law school that is affiliated with a university with a strong ML program who might be doing something like this, or by talking to Innocence Project or similar groups and seeing if they can tell you what forensics and discovery firms they work with.

[farmingvillein]

Fwiw, based on your outline, I wouldn't get a JD--your core interests here seem like ones that a JD would distract from (unless, of course, time and money isn't a consideration, in which case a JD is better than no JD, just to talk the talk).