Tech Law Lab I and II (1) (CIP 401/402)

Professor Richard Sherwin

New digital technologies are altering the way law is practiced and taught. Images are increasingly becoming a regular part of the way law teachers impart information (in class and out) and the way lawyers communicate and argue (in court and out). Thinking in images, however, is different from thinking in words alone, and competency in the production and interpretation of images is not a given. Like the art of writing and reading words, visual literacy also requires deliberate cultivation. That is the objective of this course. Students will cultivate through hands-on visual production the skill set that lawyers need for effective visual communication and advocacy in the digital age. We will read across several disciplines (including cognitive studies, art history, the semiotics of advertising, popular culture studies, etc.) while also engaging in basic visual training (including the rudiments of camera work, lighting, sound, and digital editing). We will work collaboratively as a seminar and in the Digital Media Lab. Each student will engage in a project that will require the application of various visual competencies. Student projects may include: the production of demonstrative evidence or closing visual arguments in connection with actual cases, short film documentaries on specific legal topics or current cases or controversies, as well as additions to the “Living Law Archive”, an earlier student project that features film interviews of accomplished and upcoming NYLS alums speaking about their legal careers and aspirations in the profession. Student projects may serve as intriguing additions to their job marketing portfolio while also contributing to a growing visual archive of online material dedicated to classroom use or online supplements in particular law courses, as well as topics of interest to lawyers, judges, policy makers and the general public. No previous background in visual production is required.