December 2025
Kate Sargeant completed more than 30 credits of technology-focused coursework to earn a TILE certificate. Five students earned LL.M. degrees in Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, and TILE Research Assistant Brandon McNeel graduated from the FlexJD program, concluding a year marked by student achievement and growth.
December 2025
Professor Mark Chinen joined Seattle University’s Artificial Intelligence Innovation Roundtable, advising on institutional AI strategy. Professor Sital Kalantry published new scholarship on AI and legal personhood, and LeighAnne Thompson delivered statewide CLEs and participated in national AI pedagogy initiatives.
November 17, 2025
By AILS President Jorge Zelidon ('27)
The November 17 Social Justice Monday, which featured Catherine Romero ('96) from Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, was co-sponsored by the TILE Institute and the AI Law Society. The AI4Good team is a philanthropic research initiative which partners with organizations worldwide to apply AI to real-world challenges, contributing to more than 300 projects for disaster prediction and relief, early warnings for food shortages, medical advancements, and biodiversity monitoring in remote regions. Her presentation was followed by a spirited Q&A that deepened students' understanding of how AI’s rapid development will shape the legal field.
November 4, 2025
By TILE RA Em Nguyen ('26)
On Tuesday, November 4, @Professor Koa’s and @Professor Bernstein’s Privacy in Practice class partnered with the Privacy Law Students Association, and the TILE Institute to host Cari Benn (’05), Microsoft’s Chief Privacy Officer, for an insightful discussion moderated by Adjunct Professor Chris Koa. The conversation explored ways to stay on top of emerging privacy laws, Cari’s commitment to fostering a strong privacy culture, and the critical role legal professionals play in advancing policy by design.
November 2025
TILE faculty contributed to legal education, national media, and scholarly publications on generative AI, health law transparency, antitrust remedies, internet governance, and data regulation, reinforcing the Institute’s leadership in technology and law.
Mary Fuller, the Western Regional Office Director of the USPTO, guest lectured in Professor Maggie Chon's Intellectual Property (IP) course for FlexJD students. Director Fuller spoke about the different areas of IP protection and how they can overlap in the enforcement context. She was also the September 2025 speaker for the TILE Institute Speakers Series.
November 2025
SJD candidate Ibrahim Badawi presented research at the International Conference on Sustainable Applied Materials, examining policy innovations for sustainable battery recycling and electronic waste management.
October 21, 2025
By Fashion and Arts Law President Anita Jahangiri ('26)
For the October TILE Speaker Series meeting, the Fashion & Arts Law Society co-hosted an engaging panel discussion with the Privacy Law Student Association and the Intellectual Property Law Society, featuring local attorneys Sindy Ding-Voorhees (Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton), Nika Aldrich (Schwabe), and Amy Weston (Miller Nash).
The panelists explored the evolving intersection of fashion, intellectual property, and privacy law from both litigation and transactional perspectives, offering students valuable real-world insight into how these disciplines converge in practice.
October 20, 2025
The WSBA Legal Technology Task Force released its final report: Embracing Change: A Strategic Roadmap for Washington’s Legal Profession in a Time of Technology Disruption. TILE Institute Director Margaret Chon and the law library's Associate Director for Digital Innovation LeighAnne Thompson participated in the Task Force, as well as TILE Research Assistants Caitlin Clarke, Ibrahim Badawi (SJD), Stephanie Ewubajo (LL.M.), Rosie Midget, Sharon Rogers, and Wyatt Young. Read more about the Task Force Report and its Recommendations.
October 15, 2025
Once again, the National Jurist lists Seattle University as one of the “most innovative law schools” on the strength of its TILE Institute initiatives, including an innovative cross-disciplinary practicum offered in the spring 2025 on “Ethical Legal Technology Innovation” co-taught by Associate Director of Digital Innovation for the Law Library LeighAnne Thompson along with Computer Science Professor Steve Hanks.
October 13, 2025
Erin McIntire (JD ’15; LL.M. Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship ’25) won the 2025 Mark Reutlinger Writing for Excellence in Legal Writing Scholarship for her final paper “Stumbling in the Race Towards Zero Hunger: How the TRIPS Agreement Creates Hurdles to Reaching SDG2,” written for Professor Maggie Chon’s Fall ‘24 International Intellectual Property course. Erin is also one of several Seattle U students to obtain a CIPP-US certification from the IAPP in 2025 and is the new mother of a son, Zaire (born the week before she received the Reutlinger prize). Congratulations to Erin on all fronts!
October 2, 2025
Professor Maggie Chon was one of five recipients of a grant from the Authors Alliance, chosen from a pool of 160 applicants. Her project, entitled Fostering Global Scientific Exchange through GenAI Translations, will identify approaches to facilitate accurate and accessible translations of scientific texts to and from English, with the goal of expanding global knowledge and technology transfer and facilitating global sustainable development. TILE Fellow Jerusalem Hadush will work with Professor Chon on this project.
October 1, 2025
IAPP has announced a new initiative: Self-service for students. Students will now be able to purchase materials directly in the IAPP Store via a student code and applications no longer need to go through the TILE Institute.
This discount is available starting October 1, 2025. For more information about the discount program, please contact Membership@IAPP.org.
October 2025
SJD candidate Ibrahim Badawi published a chapter on environmental justice and climate litigation in a comparative law volume. JD student Itzel Gonzalez was selected as an A. Serwin Scholarship recipient to attend the IAPP Privacy, Risk, and Security Conference, continuing a strong tradition of student engagement in privacy law.
October 2025
TILE faculty presented scholarship on antitrust enforcement, AI policy, and intellectual property at regional and national conferences. Faculty expertise was also featured in media coverage addressing competition law, emerging technologies, and regulatory frameworks.
September 30, 2025
At Seattle University School of Law’s third annual Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) Institute’s Annual Celebration of Alumni, Microsoft Director of Compliance and Responsible AI Catherine Romero ’96, who works on Microsoft’s philanthropic AI for Good team, received the 2025 TILE Alumni Award for her mentorship of law students.
Romero, whom Dean Anthony E. Varona called “a shining example of how our alumni truly are leaders serving justice,” co-founded the Hispanic National Bar Association’s (HNBA) Intellectual Property Law Institute (IPLI), an intellectual property and tech law immersion program for law students, and actively mentors many Hispanic law students and lawyers. Learn more here.
September 30, 2025
The TILE Institute hosted its 2025 Symposium, “Why Libraries Matter Now More Than Ever to Democracy: Legal Issues Affecting the Future of Public Knowledge,” on Tuesday, Sept. 30, from noon to 3:30 p.m. in Room 110 of Sullivan Hall at Seattle University School of Law.
The event brought together experts in copyright law, technology and library studies to discuss the crucial role libraries play in safeguarding knowledge and supporting democracy.
The symposium was co-sponsored by the Seattle University Law Review and the Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental and Innovation Law.
Learn more: TILE Institute 2025 Symposium
August 2025
Michelle Pham (JD ’11) was named a 2025 “Best Under 40” honoree by the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association for excellence in law and community leadership. Vidushi Chaturvedi (LL.M. ’25) published a book chapter on feminist ethics and artificial intelligence in the Handbook of Global Philosophies on AI Ethics, contributing to global discourse on AI governance.
July 28, 2025
Seattle University School of Law has entered into a formal agreement for a second year with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to provide patent pro bono services across Washington state. The initiative will be led by TILE Director and Professor Maggie Chon. Under this new joint project agreement, the School of Law will administer the Washington State/TILE Patent Pro Bono Program, a regional program aimed at helping financially under-resourced independent inventors and small businesses navigate the complex patent application process.
This work directly supports the USPTO’s national effort to make intellectual property services more equitable and accessible under the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022. This collaboration builds on the law school’s commitment to social justice and public service by ensuring that innovation support reaches underserved communities.
See more at: Washington State-TILE Patent Pro Bono Program.
July 23, 2025
Seattle University School of Law recently concluded its AI, Tech, & Law Summer Course, welcoming twenty-seven students from Jindal Global Law School (JGLS). The program explored the intersection of artificial intelligence, ethics, and legal practice through classroom sessions, site visits, and guest lectures.
Highlights included a closing dinner with Father Paolo Benanti, AI Advisor to the Pope, who spoke on AI and ethics, and Pallavi Wahi, Managing Partner at K&L Gates, who shared her journey from arriving in Seattle as a Microsoft spouse to becoming one of the top lawyers in America.
Students also visited Microsoft headquarters and Perkins Coie, engaging with leaders in responsible AI and corporate strategy. Feedback from professionals praised the students’ “thoughtful and sophisticated questions,” describing them as “energizing,” “impressive,” and “challenging in the best way.”
The program was organized in collaboration with the Roundglass India Center.
See more on LinkedIn: AI, Tech & Law Summer Course.
June 22, 2025
The TILE Institute partnered with the WSBA Privacy Law Committee of the Business Law Section to host a certification training for the IAPP’s new Artificial Governance Professional (AIGP) exam. This was made possible through the efforts of Olivia Holder (Bracker & Holder LLP), Sofia Kovach, and Seattle U Law alumna Esther Arokun ’24.
Fifteen students from Seattle U and the University of Washington participated in the training, led by Mark Webber, Managing Partner at Fieldfisher. All participants received vouchers to take the AIGP exam at no cost, along with a one-year student membership in the IAPP.
See more on LinkedIn: AIGP Training at SU Law
June 21, 2025
Panelists Mark Chinen (Seattle University) and Sonia Katyal (University of California-Berkeley) and moderator TILE Institute Director Maggie Chon (Seattle University) discussed democracy, fundamental rights and the global picture at the 2025 Seattle University Ethics & Tech Conference held on June 18, 2025, on the SU campus.
Video: Panel with Mark Chinen and Sonia Katyal, moderated by Maggie Chon
June 9, 2025
TILE held its 8th Annual Innovation and Technology Law Conference on June 6, 2025, focusing on Regulating Artificial Intelligence: From Where and When? This fully free and virtual event, organized by Associate Dean for Planning and Strategic Initiatives and Professor Steve Bender and other TILE faculty, featured experts discussing international AI regulation, industry vs. government oversight, AI misinformation, and inclusive democracy. A final panel explored the role of Washington State legal organizations in AI governance.
The conference was sponsored by Seattle University School of Law, the TILE Institute, the SITIE Initiative, SJTEIL, and Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C.
See more at: 8th Annual Innovation and Technology Law Conference (2025).
June 2025
TILE faculty shared scholarship at national conferences and CLE programs throughout the summer, including presentations on the No Surprises Act, AI marketing risks, and the regulation of alternative data. These efforts reflect TILE’s continued engagement with emerging legal and ethical challenges in technology.
May 22, 2025
In a competitive process for an internal Seattle University grant, the Multidisciplinary Generative AI Research Award (spring ’24) in the amount of $15,000 was given to a faculty group consisting of Professor and TILE Institute Director Chon and Professors Hanks (computer science), Kang (education), and Thompson (law).
As a result, Winter Quarter 2025 marked the launch of a new cross-disciplinary practicum titled “Ethical Legal Technology Innovation.” Co-taught by Professors Hanks and Thompson, this course convened a cohort of four JD students and ten graduate-level Computer Science students to work collaboratively to design and prototype tools aimed at improving access to justice and legal services through responsible, AI-enabled legal technology.
Students worked in three interdisciplinary teams on projects to improve access to legal services through community partnerships, user-centered design, and the practical application of generative AI. The teams developed the following projects:
In April 2025, the student teams presented their prototypes at a reception attended by faculty, students, and community partners. View student presentations.
See more on LinkedIn: Ethical Legal Tech Innovation practicum.
May 17, 2025
Seattle U Law celebrated the inaugural cohort of J.D. students to earn the TILE certificate, each completing at least 25 credits of technology-focused coursework. The five certificate recipients were April Ba, Tsechu Dolma, Jordan Miliotes, Juliet Odell, and Jaren Wilburn.
Six students also received LL.M. degrees in Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, including Angie Lopez Castaneda, Nina Esquivel, Erin McIntire, Bharatee Preeya A.K., Esther Arokun, and Olufunmilayo Omolade. Numerous TILE research assistants graduated as well, marking the close of a productive academic year.
May 2, 2025
In April, the TILE Institute partnered with the Artificial Intelligence Law Society; to host Kevin De Liban (Seattle University School of Law Class of ’11), Founder, President, and Attorney from TechTonic Justice. De Liban presented on his recent report Inescapable AI: The Ways AI Decides How Low-Income People Work, Live, Learn, and Survive and; discussed the many ways that AI has been exacerbating inequities and oppression within society as well as educated students about algorithmic justice.
Read more about TechTonic Justice and view LinkedIn post: Presentation on Inescapable AI.
May 2025
Professor Steve Bender directed the 2025 Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Ethics, offering intensive coursework on lawyering for technology companies. TILE faculty also presented research nationally, addressing health law implementation, socio-legal scholarship, and professional responsibility in legal technology.
April 25, 2025
At Seattle University’s annual State of the University event, TILE Faculty Director Margaret Chon highlighted the Institute’s accomplishments and initiatives. TILE was featured alongside other university-wide efforts focused on technology, ethics, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
April 2025
A student note by Camryn Bonetti (JD ’25) addressing hidden AirTag tracking was cited in a Colorado news story, demonstrating the real-world impact of student scholarship.
Several TILE-affiliated students also received major honors. Ania Smeraldo (JD ’25) and Xenia C. (JD ’25) earned Washington State Bar Association Intellectual Property Section Scholarships and later passed their respective bar exams. Divya Dhami (JD ’25) received the 2025 Westin Scholar Award from the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Tian Yong Zheng (JD ’26, Ph.D. ’17) was awarded the Seed IP Law Group Founders Scholarship and contributes professionally as a registered patent agent.
April 2025
The Seattle University Law Review published a symposium issue on “Addictive Technology and Children,” featuring an introduction by TILE Faculty Director Margaret Chon and contributions from leading scholars. The volume included a reprint of a keynote address by Professor Gaia Bernstein from TILE’s Fall 2024 alumni celebration about her book Unwired and was published on an expedited schedule.
March 3, 2025
The TILE Institute supported a February 2025 panel event hosted by the Business and Entrepreneurship Law Association, featuring attorneys Rachel Morowitz, Brett Kobes, Jane Pryjmak, and Michelle Pham '11. The session offered Seattle U Law students valuable insights into business and legal practice.
Read more on LinkedIn: Business and Legal Practice Panel.
March 2025
Over spring break 2025, Seattle U Law students traveled to India for an exchange course titled “Indian Law and Legal Institutions: Artificial Intelligence and Access to Justice.” Initiated by Professor Sital Kalantry and led by LeighAnne Thompson, the program at Jindal Global Law School combined classroom learning with site visits to Indian courts and historical locations, allowing students to examine comparative approaches to AI, law, and justice.
February 11, 2025
A February TILE Speaker Series event, “Varying Perspectives on Privacy,” featured a panel of privacy professionals from major technology companies and government, including Meta, Microsoft, Nordstrom, and the Federal Trade Commission. Organized in conjunction with the Privacy Law Student Association, the discussion offered students insight into diverse career paths in privacy law and data protection.
February 3, 2025
Agenor Leite, an LLM student in Technology and Innovation from Brazil, was selected for the IAPP’s A. Serwin Conference Scholarship, awarded to 25 students globally for excellence in privacy, AI governance, and digital responsibility.
As part of the honor, Leite attended the Global Privacy Summit in Washington, D.C., where professionals and policymakers gather to discuss developments in data protection and emerging tech. The award supports student engagement in rapidly evolving areas of privacy law.
Read more on LinkedIn: IAPP Scholarship.
January 28, 2025
Professor Sital Kalantry, Executive Director of the Roundglass India Center at Seattle U, launched a new interdisciplinary course, “Investing in AI Companies,” which teaches students to evaluate tech startups from business, legal, and technology perspectives.
Dr. Jeffrey Omari published a blog post examining Elon Musk’s experiment with “free speech absolutism” in Brazil, drawing lessons for democracy and disinformation globally. In faculty scholarship news, Professor Margaret Chon contributed an article, “Relational Innovation and the Public Benefits of Copying,” to a Berkeley Technology Law Journal symposium honoring Pamela Samuelson, exploring the Supreme Court’s reference to the “public benefits” of copying in Google v. Oracle.
January 15, 2025
Associate Director for Digital Innovation and professor LeighAnne Thompson and Legal Writing Director Kathryn Boling were interviewed for an article titled "AI in Legal Education: A Seattle University Excerpt," published in the January/February 2025 issue of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association's magazine, Pierce County Lawyer. The article was written by Owen Leopold, a second-year law student at Seattle University.
Read more: News Archive >

Catherine Romero ('96) spoke at Social Justice Monday in November 2025, in a program co-sponsored by TILE and the AI Law Society. Pictured from l-r: Garrett Gregory, Kate Sargent, Itzel Gonzalez Patino, Catherine Romero, Jorge Zelidon, Jack Marino, and Allison Olivares, November 2025.

The Privacy in Practice class welcomed guest speaker Cari Benn (’05), Microsoft’s Chief Privacy Officer, in a moderated discussion led by Adjunct Professor Chris Koa. Pictured here (l-r) are: TILE Director Maggie Chon, Professor Mark Verstraete, Adjunct Professor Jake Bernstein ('07), Cari Benn ('05), and Adjunct Professor Chris Koa, November 2025.

TILE-affiliated student organization leaders gather before the first TILE monthly meeting of the fall 2025 semester, September 2025.

Speakers at final dinner culminating the successful Jindal Law School summer exchange program, July 2025.

The TILE Institute partnered with the WSBA Privacy Law Committee to host an IAPP certification workshop for the new AIGP exam, thanks to the efforts of Olivia Holder (Holder & Bracken), Sofia Kovach as well as SU alumna Esther Arokun ('25), June 2025.
Sponsored by the Seattle University School of Law Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) Institute; its SITIE institute (Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Ethics); the Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law (SJTEIL); and Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C.
Watch the Event: 8th Annual Innovation and Technology Law Conference (2025)
Learn More: Annual Innovation Law and Technology Conference Archive

This series brings to Seattle U Law nationally and internationally preeminent leaders from law practice, the judiciary, government, and the corporate world, to share their bold ideas about the future of law and the legal profession.
Margaret Chon
TILE Faculty Director and Professor of Law
mchon@seattleu.edu