CUNY Law and State Bar Team Up for Unique Tech Law Course

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Judge James C. Francis IV, a former Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of New York and a Distinguished Lecturer of Law at CUNY Law School, is one of several guest lecturers in the CUNY Law’s new technology law course. Photo via CUNY Law.

Judge James C. Francis IV, a former Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of New York and a Distinguished Lecturer of Law at CUNY Law School, is one of several guest lecturers in the CUNY Law’s new technology law course. Photo via CUNY Law.

By David Brand

CUNY Law School in Long Island City has partnered with the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) to introduce a first-of-its-kind course on technology and the law, featuring experts on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, blockchain, 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. We are confident that this will enhance legal education and the profession.”

The class will be open to second- and third-year CUNY Law students. Class organizers Mark A. Berman, chair of NYSBA’s Committee on Technology and the Legal Profession, and CUNY Law professor Joseph Rosenberg will enable students to learn the fundamentals of how technology intersects with the law.

“NYSBA is bringing the best lawyers engaged in cutting edge technology to CUNY Law,” Berman said. “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.”

The once will take place one day a week and feature various experts, including Berman, Legal Aid Society staff attorney Cynthia Conti-Cook and Judge James C. Francis IV, a former Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of New York and a Distinguished Lecturer of Law at CUNY Law School.

“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 in a statement.