Jen Berrent, CEO of Covenant, led a conversation on how artificial intelligence is transforming legal practice and reshaping the future of law firms. Berrent, drawing from her experience as both a lawyer and CEO, provided insights into the evolving AI landscape and discussed its implications for lawyers, clients, and the delivery of legal services in the coming years.
Berrent discussed the progression of AI tools and how machine-learning systems are helping lawyers analyze large datasets faster and, at times, more accurately than ever before. She also addressed the shifting role of an attorney as work moves from document review to higher-level strategic advising and client counseling. Berrent highlighted the growing need for tech-literate lawyers who can collaborate with AI ethically and effectively.
A significant portion of the discussion focused on how Berrent’s firm, Covenant, is restructuring around AI-driven workflows, including smaller teams, the use of integrated AI tools, and more affordable and flexible billing models. Berrent also predicted a major rise in the role and strategic importance of in-house counsel as companies adopt AI more deeply.
Berrent emphasized that, even as AI grows more powerful, it remains essential to develop human-centric legal skills that technology cannot replace. The next generation of lawyers will need to bridge the gap between legal reasoning and data-driven insight, combining technological fluency with judgment, empathy, and communication.
The overarching takeaway of the session was that AI is not a threat but a catalyst for transformation in the legal profession.
Professor of Law Gregory Germain spoke with the Sydney Morning Herald on President Donald Trump’s threat to sue the BBC for $5 billion over how a video was edited.
The president would need to prove that the BBC acted with “actual malice.” “They’ve got to meet the actual malice standard with New York Times versus Sullivan, which is a very tough standard,” said Germain.
The case, if filed, would also have to surmount another legal standard that protected publications that were “substantially true”, Germain said. The remarks that were spliced together were both things Trump said, even if the edit was poorly done, he said.
“I don’t think they should win a Pulitzer Prize for the editing, but it’s not defamatory,” Germain said. “What he’s alleging is that he doesn’t like the way they edited the video, he’s not alleging that they posted a deep fake or something.”
The article surveys the rules that states have developed about when and what their intermediate appellate courts write. It also considers why states limit the writing of their intermediate appellate courts.
The article highlights why rules about appellate court writing matter, how AI may influence those choices, and what writing means for accuracy, transparency, and the future of state court appellate justice.
Aliza Milner, Written Opinions in State Intermediate Appellate Courts: Current Landscapes and the AI Horizon, 38 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 273 (2025).
Emma Bissell L’27 and Elyse Maniccia L’26 tied for the Best Overall Brief award at the 2025 Brigadier General Wayne E. Alley Military Law Moot Court Competition. The team also finished third overall. The team was coached by U.S. Army Captain Nick Van Erp.
“I want to congratulate Emma and Elyse for their double accomplishments at this prestigious competition. I also want to thank Captain Van Erp, who has expertly coached numerous Syracuse Law appellate teams, generously and graciously volunteering his time,” said Professor Todd Berger, director of Advocacy Programs at Syracuse Law.
“It was a pleasure working with Emma, Elyse, and Captain Van Erp. Their professionalism and enthusiasm made a strong impression, and we were honored to host them,” said Captain Shannon K. Lorant L’22, Army JAG Field Screening Recruiting Officer.
This year marked the first time Syracuse University College of Law competed in the Brigadier General Wayne E. Alley Military Law Moot Court Competition, the most prestigious military appellate advocacy tournament hosted by the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Syracuse Law’s participation underscores its long-standing national excellence in advocacy and its historic leadership in preparing advocates for military service in the legal profession.
The Brigadier General Wayne E. Alley Military Law Moot Court Competition recognizes the written and oral appellate advocacy skills of law students and showcases the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and its vast opportunities for litigation to law students, law schools, and the public. The tournament is hosted at the United States Army Advocacy Center on Fort Belvoir, VA and the competitors argue a mock case before the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals. Past final round judges were current and former judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals, and senior trial judges and members of academia.
Shaking hands with a Supreme Court justice is a dream come true for anyone in the legal profession, but that dream became a reality for three Syracuse University College of Law students who participated last summer in The Sonia & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program.
Syracuse Law students Imari Roque L’27, Rebeca Chavar L’27, and Emma Bissell L’27 participated in The Sotomayor Program, which aims to “cultivate and develop future leaders from underserved communities” through judicial internships, educational experiences, and other resources to help achieve professional goals.
The full group of Judicial Interns participating in The Sotomayor Program in summer of 2025.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor is the first Latina and third woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009. Growing up in public housing in the Bronx, Sotomayor is known for her respect for the judicial process and passionate approach to the law, particularly in regard to civil liberties and the rights of those from marginalized communities. She is also committed to the judicial process, as well as supporting those impacted by systemic inequities.
For two months this past summer, Roque, Chavar, and Bissell participated in The Sotomayor Program, working full-time for judges, while also participating in professional development training and networking. Each worked in a different judicial environment, but all three gained invaluable insight and experience working in courtrooms under the direct supervision of a judge.
Roque has been interested in The Sotomayor Program since she was 14 years old, but it wasn’t until she was a 1L at Syracuse Law that she applied to the program’s law school division.
“I’ve always been drawn to being a lawyer, and Justice Sotomayor is the first person who comes to mind,” she explains. “No one in my family is a lawyer, so Sonia Sotomayor—a Puerto Rican woman from the Bronx like me—has been my role model.”
Roque was matched with the Hon. Bryant Tovar, a judge of the Housing Part of Civil Court of the City of New York, dealing with landlord-tenant matters, civil litigation and immigration law. The work focused on the Small Property Part of the court, which handles housing issues before trial, particularly cases where landlords are suing tenants.
“I became really familiar with what city court looks like, developed a rapport with the judge, clerk, and others, and learned a lot about negotiations and alternate dispute resolution, as well as what everyday law looks like,” says Roque. “It was interesting because Judge Tovar leads with understanding and empathy on the bench, which gave me a different perspective on the law.”
Chavar worked for the Hon. Javier Vargas in New York State Court of Claims in Manhattan, where she gained hands-on experience observing three major trials. Judge Vargas encouraged his interns to engage deeply in their work, often discussing with her issues brought against the state of New York, involving issues such as car accidents and claims of excessive force by law enforcement.
Rebeca Puente Chavar L’27 pictured with the Honorable Javier E. Vargas at the New York State Court of Claims in Manhattan, NY.
“I was thrilled when Judge Vargas asked me to help draft a memo recommending how to decide on a motion, and that set the tone for the kind of work he expected,” she says. “I also helped draft a decision for one of the trials, did research on pending trials, and my final project was a case where I wrote a decision by myself for review by the clerk and the judge.”
Bissell discovered The Sotomayor Program through an email Mary Kate Tramontano L’26 sent to the Women’s Law Student Association listserv, an opportunity that ultimately led her to work with district civil and criminal court judges in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn.
“It was awesome because I was able to observe a lot of different types of trials,” Bissell says. “I was assigned to a judicial clerk who helped me with whatever I needed. Getting to the end of my internship and seeing that I could write a full legal opinion was the best feeling ever.”
Meeting a Legal Legend
After a summer of learning the ins-and-outs of the courtroom, students were invited to an event highlighted by a visit from Sotomayor herself. Not only did the interns get to hear the Supreme Court justice speak, but they also had the chance to talk with Sotomayor and take photos with her.
“It was a full circle moment for 14-year-old Imari,” says Roque. “I shook hands and said hello to someone I’ve admired most of my life. It’s funny because she looked like someone who could be in my family. The experience really helped me understand that that could be me.”
Chavar was also awe struck by Sotomayor. “We took a group photo, and I was lucky enough to be placed right next to her! She asked me where I went to law school,” Chavar says. “The reason I’m in law school is largely inspired by Justice Sotomayor. When she went to the bench, I was in middle school, and I have a distinct memory that inspired me to go to law school. So it was a big deal to hear her wisdom. A majority of the students there were from underrepresented backgrounds in the legal field, and Justice Sotomayor was a beacon of hope and encouraged us to trust in the legal system despite all that’s going on in the world.”
“You read her opinions, and you know that she is incredible, but then you see her in action, and she is so eloquent,” says Bissell. “When I started law school, I was questioning my decision, and I think The Sotomayor Program helped reinforce that those in the legal field are making decisions that are impacting people’s lives. I know I want to be a part of that type of work.”
Professor Katherine Macfarlane’s essay Self-Accommodation has been published in the University of California Health Humanities Press collection “Legal Determinants of Health: From Incarceration to Accessibility,” edited by Brian Dolan and Juliet McMullin. The online, open-access version of the book is available here.
The “Legal Determinants of Health: From Incarceration to Accessibility” brings together six cutting-edge essays that expose how legal systems—through incarceration, detention, disability law, tort doctrine, and human subjects research—profoundly shape health outcomes and perpetuate structural inequality.
Professor Macfarlane serves as Director of the College of Law’s Disability Law & Policy Program and is a leading expert in reasonable accommodations.
The College of Law hosted its 8th annual Veterans Day Ceremony and Celebration, highlighted by four Syracuse Law student-veteran speakers who discussed their service experiences.
The student speakers were Ava Dussmann L’27, Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force; Nicholas Hardy L’27, U.S. Army veteran; Rebecca Lee L’27, a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and Frederick Wilkes L’27, a U.S. Army veteran.
Anthony Ruscitto L’26, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, provided the welcome remarks. Col. Klint Kuhlman, the U.S. Army Fellow at the Institute for Security Policy and Law, delivered the closing address.
“We must honor those who serve in the military – past, present, and future – and as we recognize the common bonds between those who support and defend the Constitution in uniform and those who do so as lawyers,” says the Hon. James E. Baker, director of the Institute for Security Policy and Law.
The event was sponsored by the Institute for Security Policy and Law, the National Security Student Association, the Military and Veterans Law Society, and the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic.
Tiffany Johnson L’26 was named the 2025 recipient of the Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association (NDNY FCBA) the Hon. Norman A. Mordue ’66, L’71 Law Scholarship. Johnson, a recently retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander, is pursuing her J. D. through Syracuse University College of Law’s Hybrid Online J.D. Program, JDinteractive.
She serves as a Legal Extern with the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Grievance Board in Arlington, Virginia, and as a Student Attorney with the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, where she represents veterans before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. She will serve as a Student Attorney with the Sherman F. Levey ’57, L’59 Low Income Taxpayer Clinic in the spring semester.
Johnson is also a Staff News Writer for Impunity Watch News, the media arm of the Syracuse Journal of Global Rights & Organizations, which focuses on global human rights and impunity reporting. She is a member of the Military & Veterans Law Society and the American Bar Association Representative for Syracuse Law.
“I am deeply honored to be selected as the recipient of the NDNY FCBA Hon. Norman A. Mordue Law Scholarship,” says Johnson. “Judge Mordue’s legacy of military service, judicial excellence, and commitment to mentoring future advocates resonates strongly with me. This recognition not only supports my legal education but also strengthens my resolve to serve veterans and advance justice with the same integrity and dedication that defined Judge Mordue’s career.”
The NDNY-FCBA’s the Hon. Norman A. Mordue ’66, L’71 Law Scholarship provides a Syracuse University College of Law student with the means to pursue a legal education and follow in the footsteps of Judge Mordue, a decorated war hero who served as chief judge for the NDNY and taught trial practice at Syracuse Law as an adjunct professor. The FCBA established the scholarship after Judge Mordue’s passing in December 2022.
Judge Mordue served as the senior U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of New York, where he was a judge from 1998 until his passing in December 2022. A 2022 recipient of the college’s Law Honors Award, Judge Mordue was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for actions during the Vietnam War as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
Professor Dan Traficonte’s Article “Government Research” was published in Volume 135, Number 1 of The Yale Law Journal. The Article examines the convergence of innovation, policy, and law.
The Article analyzes government research from an innovation-law perspective by outlining the basic institutional design of government research and, using case studies of the National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Program and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, shows how it works in practice.
Traficonte identifies a particular niche in which government research has clear comparative advantages: high-risk, high-reward projects that require massive scale, interdisciplinary collaboration, and long-term funding. He also explores normative justifications for government research beyond efficient knowledge production, including the building of state capacity for developmental policy and a more equitable distribution of the gains from innovation.
By integrating government research into this broader institutional framework, the Article reaffirms the state’s indispensable role in innovation law and policy and reasserts the values that ought to guide its future development.
Professor Todd Berger’s online Trial Practice course was recognized by the Syracuse University Center for Online & Digital Learning at its recent Digital Spotlight event, which celebrated collaboration in online course design and development.
The Trial Practice course, offered to students in Syracuse Law’s JDinteractive hybrid online J.D. program, features lectures on the actual skills used in trial practice followed by demonstrations of the skills in action. For example, students might hear a lecture on impeachment by prior inconsistent statement and then see a demonstration of the classic three-step impeachment process.
“The demonstrations help make abstract descriptions more concrete and help students understand how to perform the skills themselves,” said Berger, director of the College of Law’s Advocacy program.
The demonstrations are conducted by trial team members, following scripts created for the class. The demonstrations feature on-screen indicators identifying the essential components of each skill set as it is performed.
“Empirical research supports the benefits of demonstration as an effective pedagogical tool to enhance student learning,” said Berger. “Or said differently, a picture is worth a thousand words.”
A study notes that, “demonstration can benefit verbal recall of instruction sequences through the engagement of visuo-motor processes that provide additional forms of coding to support working memory performance.” Allen RJ, Hill LJB, Eddy LH, Waterman AH, Exploring the effects of demonstration and enactment in facilitating recall of instructions in working memory. Mem Cognit. 2020 Apr;48.
