The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) says it is partnering with the City University School of Law (CUNY) School of Law in offering what it describes as a “groundbreaking” Technology and the Law class for second and third-year students at CUNY Law School.
NYSBA said the course will feature expert guest speakers with experience in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, blockchain applications, privacy, social media, eDiscovery, biometrics and algorithms.
“NYSBA has long supported the mission of CUNY Law in their fight for justice, and we are excited to embark on this new venture together,” said NYSBA President Michael Miller.
“As far as we can tell, this may be the first-time a bar association in the United States is teaching an entire law school class, and we hope that this collaboration between the practicing bar and CUNY will be a model for others,” he added. “We are confident that this will enhance legal education and the profession.”
NYSBA said Mark A. Berman, chair of NYSBA’s Committee on Technology and the Legal Profession, and CUNY Law professor Joseph Rosenberg “aim to provide students with technological skill and expertise in understanding of the fundamentals of how technology intersects with the law.
“With New York joining the growing number of states adopting a professional duty of technology competence in their Rules of Professional Conduct, there is a need to properly prepare law students for practice in the electronic world,” NYSBA said.
Berman said NYSBA is “bringing the best lawyers engaged in cutting edge technology to CUNY Law.
“It is through a jointly taught class of this type that law students receive the legal education that will best prepare them to practice law in our ever-changing digital world,” he said.
NYSBA said the course will be taught once a week during the evening.
“With the support of NYSBA, CUNY Law is in a unique position to train legal advocates within, and with understanding of, the ethics and technology that are poised to become the center of not only the profession but also of effective radical and progressive lawyering, organizing, and advocacy,” Rosenberg said.
NYSBA said seminars will cover fundamentals of technology and the law, focusing on what news lawyers need to know to practice competently, and give students the opportunity to discuss how technology affects law practice, the legal system, legal ethics and marginalized and vulnerable communities.
“NYSBA believes the future is working with law students and young lawyers,” Berman said. “The first step in this process is to collaborate with law schools to assist in educating students in what they want – which includes technology to further their career objectives.”
