We are excited to invite legal scholars to participate in the second virtual Workshop on Private Law and Emerging Technology. This workshop is a forum for in-depth engagement with works-in-progress at the intersection of private law, public policy, and the societal changes engendered by new technologies. Rather than focusing on specific policy proposals, we are interested in determining how our systems of private law and private ordering are affected by, provide solutions for, and influence technological change. What do we mean by technology? We have a broad understanding of technology that extends beyond solely digital innovations. What do we mean by private law? As part of private law, we include property, contracts, torts, equity, as well as intellectual property and commercial law, among others. The fundamental questions guiding this Workshop include:
While we are open to papers on all topics relating to emerging technology and private law, we encourage participants to engage with fundamental questions about private law theory and doctrine rather than policy solutions. General technological themes may include (listed alphabetically):
This remote Workshop is scheduled for four consecutive Fridays in April 2025: Apr. 4, 11, 18, & 25 from 1:30 to 3:30PM (Eastern). For each work-in-progress, a designated discussant will comment on the piece for up to 10 mins, followed by a response from the author for up to 5 min, followed by an open Q&A session for 35 min. Three weeks prior to each presentation, a draft of 10k to 25k words will be expected for circulation.
For submissions, we require an extended abstract of between 500 and 1,000 words. No bibliography is required, though key citations may be used to contextualized your work. Submit here.
The Deadline to Submit is:
November 1, 2024 at 11:59PM (Eastern)
Depending on demand, the Workshop may also facilitate an additional opt-in digital paper exchange to expand access and facilitate connections within the private-law-and-tech community. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out.
Associate Professor of Law at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Affiliated Fellow at the Yale Law School Information Society Project.
He is specifically interested in how emerging technologies interact with inter-personal norms, cognition, and private law theory.
He is also on the executive committee of the Virtual Law & Technology Workshop.
Find him on X (Twitter)
