A Brief History of SLATA

With its location in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford Law School provides an ideal forum for students who want to explore the nexus of law, technology, science, and society. And for nearly two decades, the Stanford Law and Technology Association (SLATA) has sought to serve these interests by sponsoring speakers and symposia, pushing for additions to the law school curriculum, and giving guidance to students who want to pursue a legal career in the field of technology.

Founded in 1984, this student-run organization draws on a unique set of resources: faculty members pursuing scholarship on technology-related subjects; Silicon Valley business leaders; and local law firms specializing in copyright, intellectual property, biotechnology, and patent law. In its 20-year history, SLATA has seen many of its alumni become leaders in the law and technology community: former association members include Kent Walker ’87, senior vice president at Liberate Technologies; Marc Rotenberg ’87, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC); and Ivan Fong ’87, senior counsel for information technology at General Electric.

Today, SLATA continues to build on its tradition as a leading student organization, and SLATA-sponsored activities continue to create forums for the discussion of current issues in law and technology. The association’s popular “Lunch with the JDs” program invites lawyers practicing in such areas as IP and patent law to campus to talk about their jobs. “Pizza with the Profs” provides an informal setting for students to hear from professors about their research in challenging new fields and to find out about new technology classes in the offing. The group has also created a mentorship program to give law students one-on-one advice from lawyers in the field. SLATA advises Stanford Law School’s administration and information technology department on such matters as the school’s technology infrastructure and the sponsorship of programs to bring new resources to the law school. And SLATA’s leadership works closely with the law school’s faculty to bolster the course offerings in technology.

The organization has sponsored symposia on a range of topics, including “How Government Policy Affects R&D” and “Intellectual Property and the Venture Capital Process.” In addition, this year will mark SLATA’s return to conference planning. The last SLATA conference, in Spring of 2003, brought together leading law and technology thinkers to discuss “Digital Landscapes: Redrawing the Boundaries in Entertainment, Media and the Law.” The event included panels on the legal implications of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the rise of digital animation, and the move to digital news content. Among the featured speakers were Steven Griffin, chairman of MusicCity; Jonathan Tasini, president of the National Writers Union; Professor Lawrence Lessig of Stanford Law School; Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation; and Philip Rosedale, founder and chief executive officer of Linden Lab. This year, SLATA is leading an unprecedented effort to create a joint conference designed and run by the law and technology associations of several Bay Area law schools.

More information about SLATA is available at http://slata.stanford.edu.

— Aaron Thacker