Securing the Future of Law Through Innovative Initiatives
Innovation is driving UC Law San Francisco. From groundbreaking research and teaching that shapes the law and how it’s taught, to the creation of our Academic Village, our commitment is to drive progress where it matters most.
Donors can advance cutting-edge research centers, programs, and people addressing society’s most pressing legal challenges. These initiatives don’t just solve problems; they prepare students to confront real-world issues, strengthen our reputation among scholars and practitioners, and ensure that our ideals of rights and justice are at the center of tomorrow’s solutions.
Building Community and Fostering Innovation
Your support for the Academic Village, another UC Law SF innovative initiative, expands affordable housing for students in one of the nation’s most expensive cities while fostering multidisciplinary collaboration. Donors also empower the College to partner with the community to revitalize the Tenderloin and enhance San Francisco’s economic vitality.
Movements that change the world society often begin in San Francisco. This is still true today. As the law takes shape around Bay Area and Silicon Valley innovations and the continuing quest for justice and equality enters a new era, UC Law SF is at the forefront. Through the Into the Future campaign, we’re embracing innovations and issues on the forefront of legal thought and practice—ensuring our students, faculty, and programs lead the way in shaping a more just and equitable future for all.
Featured Initiative
The Toni Young ’76 Appellate Education Center
For more than three decades, Associate Dean and Professor of Practice Toni Young ’76 has helped shape appellate advocates through exceptional teaching, mentorship, and leadership. The appellate education program she founded has become one of UC Law SF’s signature experiential learning opportunities. Through an alumni-led effort to name the Toni Young ’76 Appellate Education Center in her honor, the College will build on that foundation and ensure her legacy continues for generations to come.
The center will provide educational programming, advocacy training, mentoring, judicial engagement, and professional development opportunities for students, practitioners, and members of the judiciary. It will also strengthen partnerships throughout California’s appellate community while expanding experiential learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom.
Where Your Support Matters Most
Donors create the living and learning environments where collaboration flourishes, research thrives, and where real-world problem-solving take root by supporting:
- UC Law SF’s influential centers
- Investments for education in emerging areas of the law
Contact our Advancement team to discuss your giving priorities.
$2M Gift from Shashi and DJ Deb Advances AI and Emerging Technology Leadership at UC Law SF
UC Law SF is advancing its leadership in the evolving legal landscape of artificial intelligence and emerging technology thanks to a $2 million gift from Shashi Deb ’94 and her husband, Dipanjan (DJ) Deb.
Shashi Deb serves as a member of UC Law SF’s Board of Directors, and she’s previously taught as an adjunct faculty member.
The Debs’ gift supports the artificial intelligence initiative of UC Law SF’s Center for Innovation (C4i) and funds a faculty position focused on emerging technology and law, eventually establishing an endowed chair in emerging technology and law.
“DJ and I are grateful to be able to support UC Law SF’s outstanding work to address modern legal challenges. Society’s ability to deal with AI and other new technologies is being decided right here in the Bay Area—and the resulting legal consequences are being shaped by UC Law SF faculty and students,” said Shashi Deb.
“Without proactive research and advocacy, it will be impossible to keep up with the new legal challenges presented by AI,” said Robin Feldman, director of the Center for Innovation. “Gifts like this make an enormous difference in the Center’s mission to confront these challenges head-on.”
Where Legal Education Meets Innovation
Leading the Way in Tech Law Education
UC Law SF’s Technology Law and Lawyering Concentration equips students to lead in fast-evolving fields like AI, privacy, and IP law. Enriched through lectures, clinics, and externships, the program connects students directly with Bay Area innovators and companies. Hear directly from two students about what sets this program apart—and how donor support drives innovation at the nexus of technology and law.
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Empowering Startup Governance
The UC Center for Business Law San Francisco advances business law through education, research, and engagement. A cornerstone of its work is the Venture-Backed Board Academy (VCBA), a program tailored to venture-backed companies. Open to founders, senior executives, and investors, the VCBA addresses the unique governance challenges faced by startup boards and provides tools to navigate the dynamic venture capital landscape.
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Supporting Future Leaders
Kristin ’07 and Tom Sverchek are investing in the future of tech law at UC Law San Francisco, creating new opportunities for students with financial need and a passion for innovation. Their gift strengthens the College’s leadership in AI and technology law, builds on its innovation-focused curriculum and startup partnerships, and advances UC Law SF’s Into the Future campaign.
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Taking a Bold Step
As artificial intelligence accelerates change across the legal profession, UC Law SF is making its AI-enabled lawyering lab a requirement for all JD students, starting with the incoming class of 2029, who will complete the course in their second year. Launched as an optional offering in Spring 2026, the six-session program gives students hands-on experience using AI for core legal tasks while also covering the ethical dimensions of AI use, including privilege, conflicts, and professional responsibility.
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Fuel Innovation
Donors can support research centers, people, and programs working on the leading edge of vital societal and legal issues.
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