Stanford Law Appoints Irene Liu to Lead AI Initiative
Stanford Law School has named Irene Liu as executive director of the Stanford Law School AI Initiative. The Initiative is co-chaired by Nathaniel Persily, the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law, and Professor of Law Julian Nyarko. Its mission: advance interdisciplinary research, teaching, and industry-policy engagement to ensure AI is developed, governed, and used responsibly across law and public life.
The Initiative brings together faculty, students, centers, labs, and outside collaborators to produce practical scholarship and real-world tools. Expect stronger connections between research and deployment, and a clear focus on legal risk, accountability, and public-interest outcomes.
Why This Matters for Legal Professionals
AI is moving from theory to daily legal practice-from discovery and due diligence to compliance and policy advising. Liu's appointment signals a push to build rigorous research, hands-on training, and partnerships that help practitioners apply AI with precision and guardrails. For firms, in-house teams, and regulators, that means better frameworks, better tools, and graduates who can contribute on day one.
What Liu Brings
Liu arrives with senior leadership experience across academia, government, and technology. Her focus has consistently been the governance, business, and policy dimensions of technology, with a special emphasis on responsible AI.
- AI advisor to the California Senate and advisor to UC Berkeley School of Law's AI Institute, where she also taught on generative AI.
- Trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and at the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
- Chief Financial and Legal Officer at Hopin, overseeing legal, finance, policy, and trust and safety during a period of fast global expansion.
- General Counsel and Senior Vice President at Checkr, leading legal, compliance, policy, and customer education, with a focus on corporate governance and regulatory growth.
- Led global law-enforcement compliance at BlackBerry and served in other senior legal roles.
Focus Areas You Can Expect
- Research on AI governance, accountability, and the practical limits of current systems-aimed at casework, compliance, and policy design.
- Training that prepares students and practitioners to evaluate AI tools, write defensible policies, and engage with regulators and courts.
- Collaboration with law firms, legal aid, and technology companies to test tools for real legal workflows, including clinical and public-service settings.
- Partnerships with policymakers to translate research into actionable guidance and measurable outcomes.
Co-chair Julian Nyarko also directs the Legal Innovation through Frontier Technology Lab (liftlab), which develops and evaluates AI tools for legal services with law firms and technology companies. Expect tighter feedback loops between research, product development, and deployment in practice.
Practical Implications for Legal Teams
- Stronger evidence on where AI adds value-and where it risks ethical, bias, or due process issues.
- Clearer standards for AI use in investigations, litigation, and compliance, including documentation and audit trails.
- Opportunities to pilot vetted tools and contribute to public-comment processes on AI legislation and regulation.
About the Stanford Law AI Initiative
The Initiative advances interdisciplinary research, teaching, and engagement with industry leaders and policymakers. It convenes faculty, students, labs, centers, and external partners to inform how AI is built, governed, and applied responsibly in legal practice and public institutions.
About Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is one of the world's leading institutions for legal scholarship and education. Alumni include influential decision makers across law, policy, business, and technology. Faculty regularly argue before the Supreme Court, testify before Congress, publish rigorous legal scholarship and empirical analysis, and contribute to national media as legal and policy experts. The school's model emphasizes interdisciplinary training, hands-on experience, global perspective, and public service.
For ongoing resources on practical AI use in law-spanning research, document review, compliance, and training-see AI for Legal.
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