Emory University School of Law will offer a new concentration in Artificial Intelligence and the Law beginning in the 2026-27 academic year, giving students a formal pathway to develop expertise in one of the fastest-growing areas of legal practice. The concentration requires 12 credits drawn from three core areas - foundational courses at the intersection of law and AI, privacy and technology law, and intellectual property - and will appear directly on graduates' transcripts.
Unlike some competitive academic tracks, there is no application process. Students simply need to satisfy the requirements and indicate their interest in their final semester. Those who do will have Artificial Intelligence and the Law Concentration listed on their transcript, creating a clear signal for employers.
Building on an existing AI foundation
The concentration formalizes coursework already emerging from Emory Law's AI-focused programs, bolstered by Emory University's AI.Humanity Initiative, the Center for AI Learning and a university-wide commitment to recruiting leading scholars in AI and law. Richard Freer, dean of Emory Law, said the new concentration "is another step forward in the number one strategic goal of this administration: student flourishing."
The concentration's committee of advisors includes Matthew Sag, a leading authority on copyright and AI who testified before the U.S. Senate on generative AI; Ifeoma Ajunwa, founding director of Emory Law's AI and the Future of Work Program and author of "The Quantified Worker"; Jessica Roberts, a scholar of AI's legal and ethical implications in health care; Kevin Quinn, who teaches Data Science and the Law; and Nicole Morris, who directs Emory Law's Innovation and Legal Tech Initiative and was named one of the American Bar Association's Women of Legal Tech.
"Law schools have spent decades teaching students to think like lawyers. This concentration teaches them to think like lawyers in a world where their clients, their opponents and the judges they appear before are all grappling with AI," Sag said. "That's not a niche skill anymore - it's a core competency."
What the concentration covers
Students can supplement the required core courses with approved electives, internships and externships. The curriculum combines traditional law courses with interdisciplinary offerings in business, technology and quantitative methods. Graduates who complete the concentration will be able to signal to employers not just interest, but fluency, in handling the legal challenges posed by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
The AI & Law concentration joins existing academic tracks at Emory Law, including concentrations in Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Criminal Litigation, Health Law and Law and Religion, as well as two certificate programs in Transactional Law and Skills and Technological Innovation. As law schools across the country respond to the growing demand for AI expertise, resources that offer structured training in AI for Legal work have become increasingly relevant for both students and practicing attorneys.
Why this matters for legal professionals
For current law students, the concentration offers a formal credential that distinguishes them in a competitive job market. For practicing attorneys, Emory's move signals where legal education is heading - toward a baseline expectation that new lawyers understand how AI affects litigation, transactional work, intellectual property and privacy law. The absence of a competitive application process also means the credential is accessible to any student willing to do the work, not just those who enter law school with a technology background.
Your membership also unlocks:
