Georgetown Law Welcomes Natalie Roisman as New Executive Director of its Institute for Technology Law & Policy

October 31, 2022

Leading technology attorney Natalie Roisman joins the Institute for Technology Law & Policy at Georgetown Law this week as its new Executive Director. Roisman, a veteran practitioner and former president of the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA), will bring extensive experience on technology related issues and a demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion to lead the Tech Institute in its work of conducting research, convening and educating policymakers, and training the next generation of leaders in tech law and policy.

“I’m delighted to welcome Natalie Roisman to Georgetown Law,” said Dean and Executive Vice President William M. Treanor. “The Tech Institute is a leading center of excellence for the study of technology, law and society, and Natalie’s broad expertise and deep commitment to fostering justice and inclusivity in technology law and policy make her an exciting leader for that work.”

Roisman joins the Tech Institute from Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP (WBK), where she was a partner and the firm’s first Director of Social Responsibility. At WBK, Roisman advised clients on media and telecommunications regulation and provided strategic guidance and advocacy before legislative, executive and regulatory bodies at the state and federal levels. She helped her firm launch new practice areas in privacy and consumer protection, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence and served for many years in leadership roles on associate hiring and professional development. As Director of Social Responsibility, Roisman led the firm’s equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives, including founding the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and achieving Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Plus Certification as part of the inaugural cohort of midsize law firms.

During her term as president of the FCBA in 2020-21, Roisman led the association through the pandemic and challenged its 1,800 members to promote justice, undo the harms of racism and strengthen democracy. Under her presidency, the FCBA launched the Diversity Pipeline Program, which in its first two years has placed more than 50 law students from historically underrepresented groups in new, paid tech/media/telecom law and policy internships and trained them through a corresponding academic and skills curriculum to support their success. In various FCBA capacities over the past 18 years, Roisman organized programs on a range of tech law and policy issues, including online content moderation and misinformation, privacy, antitrust, intellectual property, and national security. Roisman also taught as an adjunct at the George Washington University Law School for nearly a decade, where she helped GW Law attract the Federal Communications Law Journal and coached the GW Law telecommunications and technology moot court team.

A champion for gender equity in law and tech, Roisman is in her second term as an elected Board member of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia. 

The Tech Institute’s three faculty co-directors also welcomed Roisman to her new role. “We are thrilled that Natalie will be taking the helm of the Institute,” said Professor Tanina Rostain. “She brings substantive expertise, strong leadership skills, managerial acumen and a deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Her experience working on issues of access, equality and fairness in tech law and policy will benefit our students and help shape the Institute’s direction going forward.” Mark Claster Mamolen Professor of Law and Technology Julie Cohen agreed, noting that “Natalie understands the fast pace and constantly evolving nature of technology law practice, and she also understands the importance of accountability in technology governance and the central role that law and lawmakers need to play.” “Natalie is a star in telecommunications law and policy,” said Professor Paul Ohm. “She instantly puts Georgetown Law and the Tech Institute in the middle of important ongoing conversations about access, fairness, competition and infrastructure, here in D.C. and around the world.”

Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy seeks to advance justice, inclusion and accountability at the intersection of technology and law. The Tech Institute provides a central hub for policymakers, academics, advocates and technologists to study and discuss the most pressing issues in technology law and policy today. It offers public and private convenings and workshops, as well as training for Congressional staff on key tech policy issues. The Tech Institute’s faculty conduct original research on topics including domestic and global technology governance, the uses of technological tools to promote access to civil justice and to voting rights, patents and public health and inclusive intellectual property. 

The Tech Institute is dedicated to training the next generation of lawyers and lawmakers with a deep understanding of technology and policy. It coordinates the leading academic program in the country for technology law and policy, with three degree programs, over 75 courses and 15 full-time faculty teaching in the cluster.

For more information, please contact the Georgetown Law Office of Communications at mediarelations@law.georgetown.edu.