New York Law School (NYLS) is pleased to announce that in the upcoming academic year, the Innovation Center for Law and Technology will be led by Co-Directors Professor Shahrokh (Seve) Falati ’08 and Professor Michael Pastor. The Innovation Center has been a central part of our academic program for a decade as technology continues to shape and transform the practice and application of the law. Professor Falati has co-directed the Innovation Center exceptionally well for the past year and serves as Director of the Patent Law Clinic. Professor Pastor currently serves as Director of the James Tricarico Jr. Institute for the Business of Law and In-House Counsel. He adds this new role to his portfolio allowing NYLS to further capitalize on his rich experience in technology law.
During the past year, thanks to Professor Falati’s leadership, the Innovation Center hosted events to discuss varied topics at the intersection of law and technology including medical malpractice claims in the age of artificial intelligence; legal issues surrounding cyber espionage technologies; how biomedical innovations are commercialized; impact of using algorithmic tools in the judiciary; and new opportunities to become a design patent practitioner. The Innovation Center also once again partnered with the Tricarico Institute, led by Professor Pastor, to hold their successful annual Tribeca Cybersecurity Summit, bringing together leading cybersecurity lawyers and leaders from the public and private sectors to engage on the pressing issues impacting their industries.
Under Professor Pastor’s leadership, the Tricarico Institute has launched a number of important programs and initiatives including establishing a comprehensive curriculum with heavy emphasis on experiential learning and hands-on field work; opening up new externship and internship opportunities in the private, public, and nonprofit sector; a “Boot Camp” Series to offer to NYLS students preparing for in-house roles as externs, summer interns, and first year associates; and an annual Mini-M.B.A. intensive course on substantive topics of business law and matters that are prerequisites for in-house success.
In the new academic year with leadership from Professors Falati and Pastor, the Innovation Center will explore the evolving impact that artificially intelligent technologies are having on the practice of law, host thought-leadership events, including with alumni doing work in the technology sector, offer a new course focused on technology transactions, and launch further technology offerings and programming for NYLS students.
We look forward to their leadership of the Innovation Center as they develop innovative and important programs that benefit our students and the legal community.
About the Innovation Center Co-Directors
Professor Shahrokh (Seve) Falati ’08 has served as Co-Director of the Innovation Center for the past year. He teaches Intellectual Property (IP) law, Trademark and Unfair Competition Law, and serves as Director of the Patent Law Clinic. He began his IP law career as a Scientist. Having studied Pharmacology at Edinburgh University in Scotland, he moved to England and obtained a Ph.D. in Pharmacology before completing a three-year fellowship as a Fellow in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He began his legal career as a Technical Specialist at a large law firm in NYC. After over a dozen years practicing patent law, including at Jones Day and a large IP boutique law firm, Professor Falati pivoted to a full-time law faculty position in 2016. His current scholarship focuses on the intersection of patent laws and the protection of new technologies, including emerging medical and software technologies. He has presented at national and international law conferences, including in Italy and Australia, and was invited as a keynote speaker to an international IP law conference in Brazil. His published technical and legal scholarship has been cited by over 2300 other articles, according to Google Scholar. Read Professor Falati’s full bio.
Professor Michael Pastor has served as the inaugural Director of the Tricarico Institute for the past three years. He previously served as the General Counsel of the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) and the New York City Cyber Command (NYC3). In those roles, he was lead counsel for New York City for all technology law matters for New York City, including those related to cybersecurity and broadband connectivity. He was also the Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs and Franchises at DoITT, where he acted as the lead executive on the City’s relationships with major telecommunications providers, including overseeing the LinkNYC program and initiatives tied to the roll-out of 5G wireless networks. Prior to these roles, he spent nearly 10 years in senior roles at the New York City Law Department in the Legal Counsel Division and the Appeals Division. He also served as the First Deputy Criminal Justice Coordinator in the New York City Mayor’s Office. Professor Pastor has published pieces recently in the New York Daily News and New York Law Journal on highly critical and forward thinking topics such as cybersecurity and abortion access, and effective ways for in-house counsel to utilize artificial intelligence. Read Professor Pastor’s full bio.