Since our formal establishment in 1850, the Law School has navigated moments of change not by reinventing itself with each new challenge, but by remaining anchored in the rigorous scholarship and commitment to public service that continue to shape the next generation of legal leaders.

These enduring qualities have been among our greatest strengths, providing the foundation on which we continue to build.

enn Carey Law is leading a changing landscape of legal education and artificial intelligence (AI). With a focus on technological fluency and ethical practice, the Law School is supporting and empowering the next generation of legal professionals through an innovative and interdisciplinary legal education.

As AI technologies transform legal practice, the Law School is ensuring that students are prepared to use this new technology responsibly and lead its deployment in advancing the profession. These efforts also support the use of new tools in expanding access to justice and preparing students for a future with new opportunities in governing these technologies.

“Generative AI has already had a meaningful impact on the practice of law, influencing and reshaping how lawyers advise clients, research, and draft, while at the same time generating a world where legal professionals need to be leaders in the way this technology is ethically integrated across society,” said Dean Sophia Z. Lee. “Legal education must continue to evolve to meet this moment in a responsible and forward-looking manner.”

Students can also choose from clinics, advanced legal research classes, upper-level seminars on AI ethics and regulation, as well as experimental courses like the AI and Civil Justice Lab, which explores the transformative potential of generative AI to improve access to civil justice for the tens of millions of Americans who cannot afford a lawyer.

Additionally, the Law School and Penn Engineering are developing a new Graduate Certificate of Study in AI and Law, part of a broader effort to foster cross-disciplinary partnerships across campus.

“Penn Carey Law has long had a tradition of highly interdisciplinary faculty,” said Wagner. “Many of our faculty members have degrees in non-law fields, and I think that means that there are a large number of people—David Abrams, Cary Coglianese, Paul Heaton, David Hoffman, Jonathan Klick, Jennifer Rothman, Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, and Christopher Yoo, among others, who are very tech savvy and interested in using new tools to understand the law better or ensure the law keeps up with emerging technologies; all while integrating disciplinary lenses ranging from empirical studies to computer science. And that means we have this real engagement with the technology that I think is unique to Penn Carey Law.”

Cary Coglianese, Edward B. Shils Professor of Law, whose scholarship on regulatory governance and algorithmic decision-making has made him a leading voice on how law should respond to AI, was appointed to the Advisory Committee on AI by the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission in 2024. He is also affiliated with the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative and the Wharton Human-AI Research program.

His research focuses on the development and spread of the common law in the British Empire and the early United States, as well as the implications of that history for public law today in ways that speak to originalists and the broader field. His work examines the relationship between legal, economic, and political change, including historical connections between jurisprudence and party politics, the nature of legal authority in the Anglo-American tradition, the history of arbitration, and the development of legal pluralism.

“I’ve long admired Penn’s remarkable community of legal historians, and I’m delighted to join it—particularly now, when debates about the past have become central to some of the most important questions in American law,” said Burset.

At Penn Carey Law, Burset will contribute to the Law School’s strength in legal history and interdisciplinary scholarship and deepen its expertise in interpretive methods.

Burset’s first book, An Empire of Laws: Legal Pluralism in British Colonial Policy (Yale University Press, 2023), explains how the eighteenth-century British Empire deployed different legal systems across its colonies to shape their development.

aunched in February 2026 and made possible through the generous support of Nehal Madhani L’09, the Madhani Legal Tech Fellowship provides financial support and resources to Penn Carey Law students pursuing the creation and development of legal tech projects or ventures.

“Having started a company while in law school, I understand what it’s like to have an entrepreneurial itch while managing obligations as a student,” said Madhani. “My goal with this fellowship is to create a program that provides the next generation of legal tech entrepreneurs the practical support and confidence to jumpstart their ideas.” Christy Xie L’27 was awarded the inaugural fellowship, which runs from spring 2026 through spring 2027.

Madhani is the founder and CEO of Alt Legal, a company that provides IP docketing software used by thousands of organizations to prepare, manage, and monitor millions of IP filings and deadlines every day.

This year’s Biddle Student Scholarship Luncheons brought that work into conversation with the broader Law School community, giving students the opportunity to present their research through short “lightning talks” and open discussion with faculty, librarians, and peers.

The program grew out of efforts within Biddle Law Library to support and elevate student research beyond the classroom. According to Genevieve Tung, Lecturer in Law and Associate Director for Educational Programs at Biddle, the luncheon series gives students an opportunity to share projects that are nearing completion—or, in some cases, already accepted for publication.

Why I Give

As CEO of Hidden Compass, an independent journalism outlet she co-founded that provides an antidote to click-bait and “junk food media,” Babu’s work takes her around the globe to tell stories of exploration and conservation. Whether chasing storms through Tornado Alley or hanging out of helicopters over California wildfires, she believes law school taught her to think outside the box.

“There are some very practical things that have carried over from my legal education,” she says. “I review a lot of contracts but, beyond that, the most valuable thing has been how law school changed the way I think and problem-solve. Strategic, critical thinking isn’t just a legal skill, it’s central to everything I do as a journalist, editor, and founder.”

Fellowship of Purpose

Fellowship of Purpose

stablished in 1960, the highly competitive E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship annually awards two-year fellowships to three recent law school graduates focused on providing high-quality representation to adults and adolescents accused of crimes. In addition to financial support, fellows also receive rigorous training in criminal trial advocacy and clinical teaching.

“One of the greatest honors I’ve experienced is being an advocate that someone can count on during one of the most traumatic times of their lives—someone in their corner when every other actor in the system seeks to dehumanize them,” said Boni. “Being a Prettyman Fellow allows me to not only serve those facing incarceration, but also to give back to communities that helped me get here by teaching the next generation of advocates and engaging in the best possible training to be the advocate my future clients deserve.”

During the first year of the program, fellows engage in intense criminal law, evidence, and trial practice classes, which culminates in representing clients in local courts in Washington, D.C. In year two, fellows continue to maintain caseloads while working as a clinic supervisor in one of three of Georgetown Law’s clinics—the Criminal Defense & Prisoner Advocacy Clinic, Criminal Justice Clinic, and Juvenile Justice Clinic—where they also teach and mentor law students. After the program, fellows are awarded an LLM degree in Advocacy.

Tarakji was also named Best Oralist. Caroline Kranick L’26 and Samendra Prasad L’26 argued for the respondents in a case exploring the intersection of First Amendment rights, § 1983, and the limits of the Heck v. Humphrey doctrine.

The Keedy Cup, named for Edwin R. Keedy, who served as Dean of the Law School during World War II, is Penn Carey Law’s annual intramural moot court competition. The competition begins each spring, when all second-year students are invited to enter the Keedy Cup Preliminaries. The four students with the highest scores based on written briefs and three rounds of oral argument advance to the Keedy Cup Finals, where they argue a case before their peers and a panel of sitting federal judges in Fitts Auditorium.

“The biggest thing to prepare is research and just understanding the substantive law that underlies our case,” said Tarakji. “We’ve been able to write our briefs for the past couple of months, which involved doing a merits brief in front of petitioners and an additional reply brief, which has been an incredible opportunity to learn the substantive law in this area.”

Through panel discussions featuring Penn Carey Law faculty, alumni, and leading experts from across the country, Courts Without Counsel explored the representation gap in housing, family law, immigration, and pro bono representation, while considering new approaches to expanding access to justice.

Since 1984, the annual symposium has been a cornerstone of the Law School’s public interest programming, convening conversations on some of the most pressing social justice issues of our time.

This year, graduates gathered for a range of outings, including a networking event in Philadelphia hosted by the Kilgore Society, as well as Lunar New Year celebrations in both New York City and San Francisco, hosted by the Asian Alumni of Penn Carey Law. Alumni in San Francisco, Atlanta, and Boston also had the chance to meet Dean Sophia Lee at informal gatherings, while graduates of the last decade (GOLD) celebrated the holidays in New York City together.

Fine Print

1960s

John Gibbel L’64 retired from Gibbel Kraybill & Hess LLP. A founding partner, he focused his practice on estate planning, estate administration, real estate, and elder law. He remains active in his community through volunteer work with his church and nonprofit organizations in Lancaster County.

Norman Pearlstine L’67 was named a recipient of the 2026 Freedom of the Press Career Achievement Award from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. The award, which will be presented in October, recognizes individuals whose careers have advanced the principles of press freedom and the First Amendment. Over more than five decades, Pearlstine has held reporting, editing, and leadership roles at major news organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, Time Inc., Bloomberg LP, Forbes, and the Los Angeles Times.