His decision to combine a University of Technology Sydney law degree with a bachelor of business paid off, but Mr Campisi says he and many other students were never told how important this would be.

"There's definitely a need to have more than a sound law qualification," Mr Campisi said. "I had work experience at law firms and accounting firms, and I've also done a coding course.

"Coming out the other side, it definitely benefited me [but] I don't think I was explicitly told it would be important," said Mr Campisi, who is now employed by law firm Gilbert + Toibin.

The Law Society of NSW, the peak representative body for solicitors, this year released a report on the future of the legal profession that identified the need for future law graduates to be equipped with technological and business skills to meet changing employer demands.

The report follows stark findings that only 74.1 per cent of law undergraduates looking for full-time employment were successful in finding jobs in 2015, compared with 88.4 per cent of graduates in 2005, according to a report by Graduate Careers Australia.

Law Society president Pauline Wright said law graduates without additional skills in other areas risk getting left behind.

"There are more students than there are jobs in the legal profession," Ms Wright said.

"Lawyers need that base-line technical aptitude. Have a look at courses that are available independently and get yourself trained up if you want to distinguish yourself from others.

"Firms will be looking at students who already have these skills when making those hiring decisions."

However, university students aren't necessarily being told their law degree won't be enough, hiring manager at MinterEllison Eric Norris said.

"There's probably more to be done by both the industry and universities to communicate how critical this technological skills set will be going forward," Mr Norris said.

"Otherwise you're just going to get left behind.

"For law students, it's probably a bit more challenging because this is a group of people who self-select out of having to be technologically savvy."

Petra Stirling, head of legal capability and transformation at Gilbert + Tobin, said the firm is trying to address the problem with its new "techno-legal" role that involves coding and designing technology solutions, for which it recruits students from as early as their second year of university.

"We're engaging much earlier in their development and learning," Ms Stirling said.

"As part of our innovation strategy, which we started about two years ago ... significant changes in our hiring practices include attracting students with dual capabilities, who have combined legal knowledge with things like computer technology and data."

For existing staff, firms have started arranging their own courses to make up for the skills gap left by university degrees.

Mr Campisi said: "Gilbert + Tobin have some really great programs that have taught me some vital skills in the technology and digital space, something my uni didn't teach me."

The industry is also working with universities to make sure more students graduate with the abilities firms are now looking for, Ms Stirling said.

"From our consultations with universities, advisers are focusing squarely on this issue and looking at curriculum revision," she said.

Some institutions are already offering new technology courses to law students, including UTS, which launched a course on creating artificial intelligence web applications for legal issues in March, and the University of NSW, which will introduce a new course on designing technology solutions from semester two this year.