Curriculum in Law and Technology
Education at the intersection of law and technology in the heart of Silicon Valley
Teaching law for practice.
UC Hastings is commited to the changing nature of law.
The Law and Technology Curriculum at UC Hastings prepares students to be the kinds of future facing lawyers that will shape the future of law in both the private and public sectors.
Courses Offered
Courses in the law and technology curriculum are available to UC Hastings students in their 2L and 3L years
Building a Legal Tech Startup
Professor Alice Armitage | Spring Semester
This course focuses on teaching students the entrepreneurial mindset and business principles that underlie the formation of a startup. Students will learn by doing: design thinking, lean startup, team building, agile development as well as business model canvas and value proposition creation methods will first be studied and then used by students to develop the fundamentals of their own legal tech startup. The final for the class will take the form of a pitch competition by each student to a panel of legal tech entrepreneurs and experts.
Technology and Access to Justice: Hacking the Legal Issues of the Homeless Population in San Francisco
Professor Alice Armitage | Fall Semester
This course will teach problem-solving for complex issues, using legal research, design-thinking and other inter-disciplinary techniques to address the challenges faced by much of the Homeless Population in San Francisco.
The Startup Legal Garage
Professors Alice Armitage and Paul Belonick | Fall and Spring Semesters
The Startup Legal Garage provides startups with legal resources, free of charge. The program provides students with hands-on experience working directly with startups and attorneys serving the startup community.
Regulation of Emerging Technologies
Professors Alison Drutchas and Shane Glynn | Fall Semester
Transformative technologies will continue to reshape how we live, work, learn, and play. In this course we will study how the law has evolved around new technologies. In particular, we'll explore the present and future impacts of automated driving systems, 3D printing, transportation network platforms, commercial drones, and blockchain. We will also challenge ourselves to think creatively about how regulatory landscapes should be built.
California Privacy Law
Professor Lothar Determann | Spring Semester
California privacy law is constantly evolving and leading the United States and other countries. In this course, students will be introduced to key aspects of U.S. Federal and California privacy law and explore this interesting field by working through research and writing assignments relating to the instructor's handbook, California Privacy Law - Practical Guide and Commentary, 3d Ed. 2018. Throughout the semester, students will work through reading, research and graded writing assignments.
E-Discovery
Professor Chuck Ragan | Spring Semester
The recent expansion of electronic discovery in civil litigation raises a host of practical, technical and ethical issues for both lawyers and clients. The volume of potentially discoverable electronically stored information (ESI) is growing exponentially. Much of that ESI is stored on widely dispersed, unconnected, outdated or downright inaccessible systems. As a number of recent, high profile cases illustrate, the stakes for both lawyers and clients are high. This course covers up-to-date developments in the doctrines governing e-discovery, as well as the practical, technical and ethical issues discussed above.
Internet Law
Professor Tal Niv | Spring Semester
This seminar will survey key legal issues in Internet law, including intellectual property ("Who owns your MySpace?"), electronic commerce ("Is a click a contract?"), content regulation ("What if a kid sees that?"), privacy and anonymity ("Who can tell I'm reading Perez Hilton?"), unauthorized access ("When is hacking a crime?"), and Internet governance ("Who's in charge here?"). Readings will focus on the latest developments in each of these areas. No technical background is required; supplementary readings will be available for those without basic knowledge of Internet technology and intellectual property law.
Democracy, Technology, and Security
Professor Chimène Keitner | Spring Semester
This colloquium offers students the opportunity to hear from and interact with experts in the fields of national security law, cyberlaw, and social media regulation, while providing a forum for students to produce papers based on their individual research interests within these fields. The colloquium will cover topics related to Russian election interference, cross-border regulation of speech and data, and international law in cyberspace.
Venture Capital & Start-Up
Professor Rachel Proffitt | Spring Semester
This course will focus on the role of venture capital in the organization and development of the startup technology company, with emphasis on both the legal and business perspectives of this subject. The course will feature a number of guest speakers to share their experience from a real world perspective, including venture capitalists from Silicon Valley-based venture capital funds, executives from existing venture-backed technology companies, attorneys from local law firms that concentrate in the technology area, and others
Certifications Available to Students
UC Hastings students can supplement their coursework with a privacy certification
Privacy Pathways Program
UC Hastings is one of a select few law schools to partner with the IAPP to offer this credentialing program.
Administered by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the CIPP certification is the global standard for expertise in privacy laws, regulations and frameworks.
Through the Privacy Pathways program, current UC Hastings students are eligible for a deeply discounted student certification package that includes IAPP membership, training materials, and registration for one certification exam.
Interested students should fill out this form to receive more details.
Meet the professors
The leading minds in tech and innovation have come together to create this one of a kind curriculum and shape the future of legal education to come.
Alice Armitage
Director of Applied Innovation, UC Hastings
Chief Executive Professor, LexLab
Professor Alice Armitage is the Director of Applied Innovation at UC Hastings, overseeing both LexLab and the Startup Legal Garage. These two innovative programs are unique to UC Hastings and aim to prepare students for practicing law in today's legal space.
Alison Drutchas
Adjunct Professor at UC Hastings
Policy and Product Counsel at Waymo
Robin Feldman
Director of the Institute for Innovation Law
Professor Robin Feldman received a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School, graduating the Order of the Coif and receiving the Urban A. Sontheimer Award for graduating second in the class. Professor Feldman also served in the Articles Department of the Stanford...
Morris Ratner
Academic Dean
Professor Ratner (BA, Stanford University 1988; JD, Harvard Law School 1991) is the chief academic officer of UC Hastings. Professor Ratner teaches civil procedure, legal ethics, and the business of law practice, and produces scholarship at the intersection of those fields. He joined the UC Hastings...
Distinguished Professor of Law & Hanna Fromm Chair in International and Comparative Law
Rachel Proffit
Adjunct Professor, UC Hastings
Partner, Cooley LLP
Rachel practices corporate and securities law and represents public and private clients, as well as venture capital and investment banking firms and other institutional investors, across a broad range of industries. Her practice focuses on general corporate and complex transactional matters, including venture capital transactions, public and private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions, and public-company disclosure and corporate governance. Prior to joining Cooley, Rachel was a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Shane Glynn
Adjunct Professor, UC Hastings
General Counsel and Cofounder, MobileCoin
© 2021