Enhancing Innovation
Through its convenings and publications, the Institute supports deep engagement and discussion on the legal and policy issues associated with the development and broad deployment of technologies and the need for public access.
The Institute co-hosts the Georgetown-Berkeley Annual Patent Law and Policy Conference which brings together experts from government, civil society, and academia and is now in its 11th year running. This symposium, as well as other Institute events, explores how expertise about technology is generated, introduced, and used in legal and policy decision making. The Institute has also helped to develop robust clinical and classroom offerings in intellectual property and innovation policy as part of the core technology curriculum at Georgetown Law.
February 9, 2021 - Georgetown Student & Tech Startup Finalist Uses AI to Empower Lawyers
When not hitting the books, GULC student Josh Schoen (L’21) manages his legal-focused technology startup, Motionize. Motionize is a legal document automation tool that employs machine learning to automate the creation of certain legal documents. By streamlining the document-creation process and reducing the burden of filing lawsuits, Motionize benefits individuals and firms. The startup is one of twenty-five finalists in the Startup Alley competition and could soon win a spot in the American Bar Association’s TECHSHOW 2021.
The software has potential to benefit litigants in a wide range of lawsuits. Motionize stands to increase access to justice by allowing plaintiffs’ lawyers to more efficiently file consumer-based lawsuits like lemon-law cases, according to Josh. Motionize’s offerings are closely aligned with many access to justice programs run by Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy, including the Institute’s annual Iron Tech Invitational.
Josh attributes his understanding of legal technology to the diverse technology law programming at Georgetown Law. Among such classes, Josh took “Programming for Lawyers,” taught by Professor Paul Ohm, “Technology Law & Policy in Practice,” with Institute Interim Executive Director Adjunct Professor Hillary Brill, and Professor Tanina Rostain’s “Civ Tech: Digital Tools and Access to Justice” course.