Columbia Law School

10/19/2026

For Olena V. Ripnick-O'Farrell ’14, one of the most exciting things about copyright law is that it is an evolving space where there are no clear-cut answers.

In her role as global copyright counsel at ByteDance, she advises “at the intersection of copyright and AI, which means I think about novel issues of copyright law day in and day out,” says Ripnick-O’Farrell. “It's my dream job—focusing solely on copyright is what I’ve always wanted to do in my legal career. My role requires agility, and, much like myself, it doesn’t fit neatly into any box.”

Ripnick-O’Farrell shares how she developed a passion for copyright law and why she believes advocacy in the workplace matters. https://bit.ly/4jvVs40

10/15/2026

Columbia Law mourns the loss of Professor Emeritus Ronald J. Gilson, an expert on law and economics who taught at Columbia Law School for more than three decades. He died on October 12.

A distinguished academic, Gilson’s scholarly contributions spanned corporate governance, finance, capital markets, and mergers and acquisitions. Drawn from his experience in private practice, his work helped set in motion a transformation in legal education, including through the development of Columbia Law’s Deals course—a model for law and business schools around the world.

“Through a rare combination of intellectual ambition, analytical rigor, and prior experience as a practicing lawyer, Ron was able to bridge the divide between theory and practice perhaps more successfully than any academic of his generation,” said Dean Daniel Abebe. “It is clear that Ron’s influential scholarship has left an indelible imprint, both for those who study the law and those who practice it.”

🔗 https://bit.ly/4zDTa7K

10/14/2026

Artificial intelligence is changing what it means to study and practice law. As AI tools become increasingly embedded into lawyers’ day-to-day work, law students need to develop not only fluency with these emerging technologies, but also the capacity to deploy them responsibly and in service of society at large.

Columbia Law School is meeting this transformative moment. AI @ CLS: Columbia Law School’s Artificial Intelligence Initiative, takes a multifaceted approach to AI—equipping students with foundational knowledge, advancing field-defining research, and tackling the profound questions that will define our collective future.

The initiative is grounded in the essential values that constitute the Law School’s unique purpose: open inquiry, academic excellence, and a commitment to preparing students for a rapidly evolving profession. It also builds on the Law School’s leadership at some of history’s most critical inflection points.

“One thing that distinguishes Columbia Law School is our commitment not only to teach students how to think, but also to prepare them for the future,” said Dean Daniel Abebe. “AI presents an extraordinary opportunity to bridge our proud tradition of rigorous, theoretical education with the realities of modern legal practice—to create an environment where students can explore these new tools while developing the judgment, critical thinking, and sense of responsibility to use them well. And, as a law school, we are uniquely positioned to tackle the profound questions AI raises for law, institutions, and society.”

This work is supported in part by a five-year commitment from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, the Law School’s lead firm partner for AI @ CLS.

🔗 Learn more about AI @ CLS: https://bit.ly/4ini7gL.

10/12/2026

Professors Suzanne B. Goldberg, Gillian Metzger ’96, Elora Mukherjee, and Thomas P. Schmidt unpacked important U.S. Supreme Court decisions from the 2025–2026 term, including rulings on presidential power, transgender athletes, immigration, and redistricting at the first Lawyers, Community, and Impact event of the academic year.

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Columbia Law School faculty discussed significant decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2025–2026 term.

10/05/2026

The Columbia Law School Soccer Club has locked in its newest 12th man! Joshua Horowitz ’28, Pedro Casquinha ’28, and Joseph Beare ’28 (left to right) recently presented Dean Daniel Abebe—an avid soccer fan who played for his college and law school teams—with a special jersey. ⚽

10/01/2026

Congratulations to Professor Katharina Pistor, who is the recipient of the 2026 Bielefeld Science Prize from the Sparkasse Bielefeld Foundation. Awarded every two years, the €25,000 prize recognizes outstanding scholars for their interdisciplinary research.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/46PbnTt.

10/01/2026

Columbia Law 1Ls, LL.M.s, and transfer students had the chance to chat with representatives from some of the 85+ student organizations and journals at the CLS Block Party in September.

“Our organizations are about bringing people together, bringing people from outside of the legal community or outside of the Law School into a community with folks at the Law School,” says Student Senate President Onyx Brunner ’27. “It’s a great way for all of us to come together.”

📸 Scroll through for highlights from the day.

09/30/2026

🗓️ Save the date: is Wednesday, October 28! Join us and help support Columbia Law’s students, faculty, and community: bit.ly/CULawFB2026

09/24/2026

The Dale and Max Berger Family Foundation—which endowed Columbia Law School’s Max Berger ’71 Public Interest/Public Service Fellows Program in 2021—has committed an additional $5.75 million to further endow the existing Berger Fellows Program and establish a new Max Berger ’71 Alumni Fellows Program.

The Berger Fellows program was launched by the Office of Public Interest/Public Service Law and Careers (PI/PS office) in 2019. The new alumni initiative, which is also overseen by the PI/PS office, will provide graduates of the Berger Fellows Program in the early and mid stages of their careers with opportunities to mentor current fellows, network with one another, and take advantage of professional development and training opportunities, and will deepen the program’s collective impact in society for generations to come.

“When the Berger Fellows Program was created, my hope was to give dedicated students the support and freedom to pursue careers in public interest and public service,” says Berger, who created his family’s foundation with his wife, Dale. “To see what they have gone on to accomplish has been nothing short of extraordinary, and for the next chapter, we want all Berger Fellows to have a lifelong community they can turn to for mentorship, professional guidance, and inspiration, and to be able to give back to those who follow them.”

🔗 https://bit.ly/4jmIHsc

09/22/2026

Over his nearly 30-year career, David Stiepleman ’97, the co-founder of global investment firm Sixth Street, has steadily broadened his scope from deal lawyer to firm builder to civic champion.

Since founding Sixth Street over 15 years ago, Stiepleman has helped build it into a leading private capital investment firm. He is now applying the same business-building mindset to downtown San Francisco. As chair of the San Francisco Downtown Development Corp., which he helped found in 2025, Stiepleman is leading a public-private partnership to revitalize a city center hit hard by the pandemic.

While Stiepleman’s career has gone through several iterations, the connecting thread in all of them is simple, he says: “I’m a generalist, and I like to build things.”

Stiepleman discusses his experiences at Columbia Law, his career as a deals lawyer and “investment bigwig,” and his latest venture as a podcast host.

🔗 https://bit.ly/4xzNLwP