Most people learn law through textbooks, lectures, or practice. I’m learning it by writing code.

Every statute of limitations rule I add to my Legal Deadline Engine starts as a vague legal principle and ends as something concrete: a database record, a calculation, an audit trail. The process of translating doctrine into logic is where the real learning happens.

Daily Practice: One Term at a Time

To keep myself honest, I started a self-training routine: each day I document one statute of limitations term in plain language. “Tolling,” “Discovery Rule,” “Equitable Estoppel” — every term gets broken down, defined, and then tested against actual code in the engine.

It’s like a mini law school curriculum, but instead of lectures, I’ve got unit tests.

Why Coding Forces Clarity

You can’t hide behind abstractions when you’re coding. If a rule says, “The deadline is three years from the date of discovery,” the computer forces you to answer:

• What exactly counts as “discovery”?
• What happens if there’s more than one possible trigger date?
• How do tolling events interrupt the calculation?

Suddenly, you’re not just reading the rule — you’re interrogating it, step by step, until it works in real life.

From Function to Feedback

What surprises me most is how coding creates instant feedback loops. Write a rule wrong? The deadline comes out wrong. Forget an exception? The audit trail tells you.

Each bug or edge case isn’t a failure — it’s another lesson in how the law actually operates. And once I’ve coded it, I know I understand it better than if I’d just memorized it.

Why This Matters

For me, this isn’t just about building software. It’s about building expertise. By the time I’m done, I won’t just have a Legal Deadline Engine. I’ll have a deep, working knowledge of statutes of limitations that came not from a classroom, but from the discipline of daily study + executable code.

Takeaway

If you really want to master something — whether it’s law, math, or physics — try pairing daily bite-sized study with coding. Computers are unforgiving teachers. They won’t let you gloss over the gray areas.

Learning by coding doesn’t just build software. It builds understanding.

About the Author

My name is Paul A. Jones Jr., and I am a software engineer and legal tech founder developing tools for professionals in law and other regulated industries. I write about systems thinking, modern workflows, and SaaS applications at PaulJonesSoftware.com. Follow me on Twitter: @PaulAJonesJr.