April and May are the season when admitted students weigh their options, and many of you are probably wondering what it’s like to be a student with interests in law and technology at YLS. In the hopes of helping others to make an informed decision, here is my perspective.

I came to the Yale Law School having an interest in technology but with a Bachelors degree in philosophy.

I still distinctly remember my first “ideas” lunch at Cosi over a year and a half ago – the ISP was working on planning the Access to Knowledge Conference in Geneva for the following year and they were discussing potential panel topics.

The group was non-hierarchical when it came to talking – conversation flowed freely between JDs, LLMs, post-Docs and professors. Everyone was talking and riffing off of each other, and every once in a while Professor Balkin would try to reign in his spirited, intelligent, but not always on focused team of information enthusiasts.

I left that meeting understanding about 10% of what was said and contributing nothing.

A year and a half later, I am happily immersed in the tech policy world – taking classes that allow me to think and write about the about things like the development of First Amendment law in a 2.0 world, attending conferences in Geneva, San Francisco and the ever lovely New Haven, and spending my Tuesdays and Thursdays discussing current developments in all things techie.

The ISP is a smart, welcoming community that I am incredibly lucky to be a part of. It is a small but diverse group that is committed to pushing a dialogue that ensures that the explicit and implicit laws governing the use and growth of technology protect and promote values of equality and innovation.

Through some amazing leadership, the ISP manages to hold many conferences, colloquia, working groups and classes that explore a wide range of issues ranging from the broad (upgrading libraries for 2.0 world) to incredibly narrow (discussing standards for online video).

Through the ISP, I have been able to gain fluency in technology topics that a year and a half ago intimidated me, find a community where I can freely explore ideas and obtain constructive feedback from professors and peers alike, and become a part of a network of amazingly talented people that are always eager to help.