Of Counsel Magazibe Volume 22/Spring 2021

Page 5

Technology Initiative BY APRIL G. DAWSON Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Pedagogical Enrichment

As technology continues to disrupt, influence, and impact the way lawyers practice law and the areas of legal practice, law schools need to more rapidly adjust law school curricula to ensure law students receive the necessary legal tech training. If there had been hesitancy on the part of law schools to offer legal tech courses, the push of technology upon both the legal industry and the legal academy by the global pandemic has made it abundantly clear that law schools must provide legal tech instruction for their students to adequately prepare them for the practice of law. Indeed, if you take even a cursory glance at law schools’ websites, you will see a plethora of law tech courses of one kind or another included in the school’s curriculum. While some law schools have fully developed law tech centers, institutes, and certificate programs, others are in the early stages of planning and development. Currently, there are approximately 30 established law school legal technology centers, and the historic North Carolina Central School of Law is about to join the ranks. One of Dean Lewis’ missions when she took the helm at NCCU Law, was the Center for Technology Law and Policy. To ensure this vital Center would be financially supported and viable, she facilitated the $5 million Intel donation to fund the creation of the Center for Technology Law and Policy. The Center and the development of legal tech curricula at NCCU Law are essential as the on-the-ground realities of the legal profession require lawyers to be more tech-savvy. Factors necessitating increased technical knowledge and instruction include, inter alia: · Ethical tech competency requirements for lawyers · Client demand for more efficient and cost-effective lawyer work · Digitalization of legal services · Emerging tech-related issues in traditional legal fields · New and emerging technology requiring legal advice and expertise · Use of technology by the courts and government agencies

To address the changing legal landscape, the Center for Technology Law and Policy will develop a program designed to: · Prepare students to provide legal advice and expertise relevant to new and emerging technology · Prepare students to use technology to facilitate the efficient, effective, and ethical practice of law · Equip students with the skills to facilitate the development of technology to improve the legal system; and · Increase community access to legal information and services The Center will also support interdisciplinary scholarship and discussions related to technology law, data security, business law, and regulation policy. Policy discussions and engagement will focus on, inter alia, technical racial disparities such as implicit bias and the racial justice implications of using data and predictive analytics in daily life and the criminal justice system. It bears emphasizing that the Center for Technology Law and Policy will operate within NCCU Law, which was founded to provide opportunities for African Americans to become lawyers. It is the mission of NCCU Law to provide high quality, personalized, practice-oriented, and affordable legal education to historically underrepresented students from diverse backgrounds to help diversify the legal profession and to empower graduates to become highly competent and socially responsible lawyers and leaders committed to public service and to meeting the needs of underserved communities. Thus, it is the mission of the Center to produce technology-conscious lawyers who will use technology in alignment with the Law School’s mission to: (1) facilitate the efficient, effective, and ethical practice of law, and (2) increase the access of legal information and services for underserved communities. It is also the Center’s mission to produce diverse technology law experts to serve the changing needs of those seeking legal advice and representation. Finally, it is the mission of the Center to engage in meaningful technologyrelated policy discussions to ensure that technology law, regulations, and implementation do not result in the further marginalization of the African American community, but rather are used to create a more just society.

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

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Articles inside

Memorials

1min
page 66

Why I Support HBCUs — Frank S. Turner

3min
page 65

Dean’s Note NCCU School of Law Donors

6min
pages 67-72

NCCU Law School Alumnus Patrick Hannah Heads the Corporate Roundtable for the National Caucus of State Legislators and Raleigh Durham Airport Authority

3min
pages 62-63

Meet Preston Mitchum ‘11

2min
page 64

Incubating Legal Practices for Justice The Durham Opportunity and Justice Incubator — Mark Atkinson ‘20

5min
pages 60-61

Alumni Mock Interview Program Launched February 2021

2min
page 59

From Humble Beginnings to Entrepreneurial Heights: The Story of David Lee Cook, III ‘81

2min
page 58

NCCU Law School Trio Provides a Play-by-Play Account of an NFL Experience of a Lifetime — Daniel Adams, Sorrell Saunders & Julian Cuthbertson

4min
pages 56-57

Reflections on the Adoption Law Moot Court Competition Capital University Child Welfare — Courtney Brown, 3L

1min
page 55

NCCU School of Law Moot Court 2021 A Spring Competition Season Like No Other — Professor Shelly DeAdder

2min
page 54

Dr. Brenda R. Shaw — The Title III Program and its Impact on the NCCU School of Law

5min
pages 52-53

Sharon N. Gaskin — An Admissions Adventure

4min
pages 50-51

Eagle Soars: India Y. Ali ‘13

0
page 49

Teaching Outside of the (Classroom Box: Lessons Learned While Teaching Remotely During the COVID-19 Pandemic — Professor Kia H. Vernon

4min
pages 44-45

NCCU School of Law’s Summer Start Initiative: Five Weeks Impact Student Success - Professors Kia H. Vernon, Dorothy D. Nachman, & Donald W. Corbett

5min
pages 46-48

Race and Place: The Upbuilding of Hayti and Black Wall Street — Andre D. Vann

23min
pages 34-41

NCCU School of Law’s Legal Pipeline Programs: Increasing Diversity of the Legal Profession One Student at A Time — Associate Dean Angela A. Gilmore

4min
pages 42-43

NCCU School of Law’s First Marketing Campaign — Mitzi Townes

3min
page 33

RJR Nabisco Endowed Chair — Professor Reginald Mombrun

1min
page 32

John D. Fassett Professorship Endowed Chair — Dr. Malik Edwards

0
page 31

Charles Houston Endowed Chair — Professor Irving L. Joyner

1min
page 30

“Bloody Sunday” History, Legacy and Continuing Need — Professor Irving L. Joyner

7min
pages 22-23

Continuation of Interview: Professor Cheryl Amana Burris & Attorney John L. Burris

13min
pages 27-29

A Change of Perspective — Alexis Murray, SBA President

2min
page 21

COVID-19, Ethics, and The Law — Sheila M. Parrish-Spence

5min
pages 19-20

Eagle Soars: Fenita Morris - Shepard Named Chief Legal Counsel of NCCU

1min
page 18

Transition in Chaos — Chip Baggett ‘16

7min
pages 14-15

To Patent and Serve — Kia C. Bell

3min
page 8

Interview: Professor Cheryl Amana Burris & Attorney John L. Burris

16min
pages 10-13

Message from the Dean

4min
pages 3-4

Tribal Governance in the Midst of the “Storm” — Joshua Richardson ’20

6min
pages 16-17

Technology Initiative — Associate Dean of Technology and the Law April G. Dawson

3min
page 5

NCCU School of Law Alumnus’ Eyewitness Account of the Development of a COVID-19 Product — Emily Hales

4min
pages 6-7

Alumni Highlight: Sheila R. Spence

1min
page 9
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