Law and Technology

Law and Technology

In the current legal landscape, law and technology increasingly intersect. Advances in technology are changing the way lawyers work, while science, engineering, and technology are creating new fields of law and raising pressing legal issues. As a leader in curricular innovation, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law seeks to graduate students with the skills and knowledge to adapt to and influence the future of legal service.

The Law School offers a range of programs and resources at the intersection of law and technology.

  • JD candidates can pursue the Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Concentration, where they are exposed to coursework in innovation regulation and policy, legal practice technology, and entrepreneurship.
  • The Master of Science in Law (MSL) program is designed for STEM professionals seeking practical legal training in intellectual property and patent design, regulatory analysis and strategy, and business law and entrepreneurship.
  • The Donald Pritzker Entrepreneurship Law Center clinical program offers students the opportunity to guide entrepreneurs through the legal issues of setting up a new business.
  • Students in all degree programs can apply to NUvention, a University-wide interdisciplinary course that teaches students how to create a viable business plan for a product or service of their own creation.
  • Students can also participate in the Innovation Lab, an interdisciplinary course designed to expose students to the innovation process. In this course, students identify a need, create a technology-based solution for that need, and develop a plan to bring that solution to market.
  • The Law and Technology Initiative is a partnership between Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, McCormick School of Engineering, and external partners such as law firms, corporate legal departments, legal aid organizations, courts, other legal-services providers, legal technology companies, and information providers. This initiative includes a series of monthly meetings, seminars, workshops, speakers, and conferences.