‘An Incredible Experience’
Innovative AI Law and Regulation program gets high marks from LL.M. students
Launched in August 2024, the LL.M. Certificate in AI Law and Regulation is the first of its kind at an American law school and has attracted students from more than 40 countries, including lawyers working in the United States looking to broaden their expertise. The first crop of graduates is already making an impact, advising tech firms, governments, and nongovernmental organizations on responsible AI policy.
“I often tell young lawyers to never stop learning, so I took my own advice,” says Jones Walker New Orleans office partner Graham H. Ryan LL.M. ’25, describing the experience as “a deep dive into how AI is transforming business, law, and society” which “has already strengthened how I approach complex problems at the intersection of law and technology.”
Available to students interested in the LL.M. executive track program, completed over two summers or through remote study with one summer on campus, the certificate is built on the bedrock of Berkeley Law’s vaunted law and technology program.
Janina Winz LL.M. ’25, associate partner at Kapellmann und Partner Rechtsanwälte in Dusseldorf, Germany, calls being in the first cohort “an incredible experience.”
“We dove into some of the most pressing legal issues around AI, from regulation and privacy to intellectual property, cybersecurity, and liability,” she says. “The focus was not only on innovation but also on how to responsibly address the legal, ethical, and societal risks these technologies create. It was challenging, energizing, and deeply rewarding.”
This summer, the program will offer two new courses — Biotechnology Law and Corporate Strategy in the Age of AI and Geopolitics — reflecting how artificial intelligence is transforming every major sector. They build on the existing curriculum, which includes Fundamentals of AI Technology, Global Regulation of AI, and Making AI Work for the People.
“Berkeley Law has always stood for excellence, community, and public mission. Our AI Law and Regulation program reflects those values,” says Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “It’s been immensely popular, and we’re proud to see how students from around the world are finding such value in it as we expand our offerings.”
As AI grows at a breakneck pace and lawyers need to keep up and innovate within the sector, Berkeley Law’s program provides valuable understanding from both leading legal scholars and lecturers who are also experienced practitioners.
For example, Professor Colleen V. Chien ’02 — whose Law and Governance of Artificial Intelligence course is the backbone of the LL.M. certificate program — has written about using ChatGPT-style applications to improve low-income people’s access to the court system and co-authored the first field study of legal aid attorneys using AI to improve service delivery.
“Being taught by powerhouse faculty who are working at the cutting edge of these issues was nothing short of amazing,” says Kenya-based Otilia Phiri LL.M. ’25, Microsoft’s head of legal affairs for Egypt, Nigeria & Morocco. “And being part of a global cohort of lawyers and technologists has been such a gift.”
Doubling Up
Biotechnology Law. Taught by Matthew Show and Amanda Casale of International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., it will probe the evolving intersection of artificial intelligence and biotechnology law, focusing on the legal, regulatory, and ethical challenges posed by AI-driven innovation in the life sciences.
Corporate Strategy in the Age of AI and Geopolitics. Taught by Berkeley Center for Law and Business Executive Director Angeli Patel ’20, it will focus on how CEOs, chief legal officers, and boards respond to AI’s disruptive potential while navigating innovation, competition, and legal risk, with guest speakers from leading AI companies and policy experts.