Ofodile Appointed Scholar-in-Residence at NYU School of Law

University Relations

Uche E. Ofodile

Uche Ewelukwa Ofodile, the E.J. Ball Professor of Law, has been appointed a Scholar-in-Residence at the New York University School of Law's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, commonly known as CHRGJ.

At NYU Law, Ofodile will pursue two different lines of research. Her first research focus is on the legal, regulatory and policy implications of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies for domestic, regional and international law and global governance. As part of this research, she will examine the implications of agricultural AI for human rights, global governance, climate change and sustainable development. 

Her second line of research is focused on the growing legalization and regulatory hardening of corporate social responsibility and environmental, social and governance, or more widely known as ESG standards, in diverse jurisdictions and in international legal instruments. Ofodile is particularly interested in the emergence and spread of supply chains due diligence legal and regulatory frameworks, including mandatory ESG-related due diligence laws.

"NYU Law's innovative, interdisciplinary, and internationalized approach to legal education is a major attraction for me," Ofodile said. "Globalization has brought a growing list of new and very complex legal problems that legal practitioners today must grapple with. NYU Law's CHRGJ is preparing law students for a world of work that is not only changing rapidly, but also highly globalized, highly technological and increasingly shaped by social, environmental and governance crisis at every level. I am truly honored to have been invited to interact with students, scholars and professors at the school's CHRGJ."

Ofodile is a member of the faculty of the LL.M. Program in Agricultural and Food Law at the law school and an affiliated professor of African and African American Studies at the U of A's Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. She is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government and a lifetime member of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations.

Ofodile's teaching, research and scholarship focuses on intellectual property law, international investment law, international dispute settlement, agriculture and food law, corporate social responsibility, as well as technology and the law. Ofodile is the founder, convenor and host of the annual "Patent Bootcamp for Women and Minorities in STEM," a community service project offered by the law school for individuals and small businesses in Arkansas. The bootcamp will return in 2022.

Ofodile is widely published; her articles and essays, many grounded in political theory and history, have appeared in numerous refereed and policy-oriented journals. She is currently completing two books: Legal Aspects of China-Africa Trade and Investment (forthcoming, from Oxford University Press) and Business and Human Rights in Africa (forthcoming, from Routledge). Her most recent essays include "Will Washington Ever Get Around to Regulating Artificial Intelligence?" published in January 2022 in JURIST and "Businesses and the EU's Proposed 'Artificial Intelligence Act': Major Points of Controversy," published in December 2021 in JURIST. 

Ofodile is on the Editorial Advisory Committee of International Legal Materials, a publication of the American Society of International Law, and serves as a book review editor for The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals. She is an active member of the American Society of International Law and the American Bar Association Section of International law and has held leadership positions in both organizations. She is the immediate past secretary general of the African Society of International Law. Ofodile has taught at numerous universities around the world and is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including an award from the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs.

NYU Law is an intellectual powerhouse, one of the premier law schools in the world and a leader in international law. CHRGJ was established in 2002 to bring together and expand the rich array of teaching, research, clinical, internship and publishing activities undertaken within NYU Law on issues of international human rights law. Today, CHRCJ is a top-ranked program for international law in the country. CHRCJ aims to generate substantive, cutting-edge and sophisticated contributions to human rights research and legal scholarship and actively engage in public affairs and make original and constructive contributions to ongoing policy debates relating to human rights.

About the School of Law: The law school offers a competitive J.D. as well as an advanced LL.M. program, which are taught by nationally recognized faculty. The school offers unique opportunities for students to participate in pro bono work, externships, live client clinics, competitions, and food and agriculture initiatives. The school strives to identify, discuss, and challenge issues of race, color, ethnicity, and the impact(s) they have on students, faculty, and staff members in an effort to achieve a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community. From admitting the Six Pioneers who were the first African American students to attend law school in the South without a court order to graduating governors, judges, prosecutors, and faculty who went on to become President of the United States and Secretary of State, the law school has a rich history and culture. Follows us at @uarklaw.

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