April Dawson, Associate Dean of Technology and Innovation and Professor of Law at NCCU School of Law, joins George Socha, Senior Vice President of Brand Awareness at Reveal, for the first in a special set of ACEDS #eDiscoveryLeadersLive sessions broadcast from the Reveal stage at Legalweek 2023.
The Associate Dean of Technology and Innovation and a professor of law at NCCU School of Law, April bring her experience as a computer programmer, Justice Department attorney, and private practitioner to the classroom. April currently teaches in the areas of Constitutional Law, Supreme Court Practice, Administrative Law, Voting Rights, and Law and Technology. She has been voted Teacher of the Year by both the day and evening students. Here current areas of research, writing, and speaking include legal pedagogy, the use of technology in legal education, and Law and Technology. A regular presenter at conferences and webinars, April also co-hosts the Legal Eagle Review radio show, which airs every Sunday evening on WNCU 90.7 FM and is available on iTunes.
In our discussion, April focused on the role of technology in legal education.
Key Highlights
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- [1:04] Introducing April.
- [1:50] The changing world of legal education.
- [2:35] NCCU School of Law’s new Technology, Law and Policy Center.
- [3:02] American Association of Law Schools efforts to make sure students are prepared for the current practice of law.
- [3:58] What’s new and different for students.
- [4:57] How students respond to this new set of offerings.
- [5:49] How law schools help students understand the technological side of law.
- [7:08] The future of legal education.
- [8:49] How they are embracing technology at NCCU.
- [9:32] And about ChatGPT….
Key Quotes
- “There is a section [in the American Association of Law Schools] on technology, law, and legal education and that section is a very collaborative group of like-minded professors and administrators who want to make sure that law schools are doing what we need to prepare our students for the current practice of law….”
- “What we are seeing is that students are able to take advantage of different types of courses that didn’t exist when we were in law school. There was not AI in the law course. There was no course on blockchain and the law. There now are courses] exposing students to tools that are being used like eDiscovery platforms, contract lifecycle platforms and so students are able to get their hands in the mix with products that are being used by practitioners.”
- “For [today’s law students, access to these platforms] is to be expected, they embrace it, they like that their day-to-day interaction with technology also translates into law school and the practice of law.”
- “Our role is to make sure that our students are prepared to hit the ground running to the extent that they can which means that legal education, we have to, one, not be afraid of technology ourselves, we have to be students of progress, we have to become familiar with Reveal and eDiscovery platforms. We don’t have to master it but we have to be aware of the tools that are being used so we can communicate that to our students.”
- “At Central we have a law and technology certificate so our students are able to do a deeper dive into the tech space, so when they graduate they are able to put that on their resume. We are also encouraging students to get their CIPP certification while they are still in law school and we’ve had several students who’ve done that already.”
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