Education

J.D., Howard University
B.S., Bennett College

Biography

Widely regarded as an expert on the role of technology in legal education, April Dawson is the inaugural Associate Dean of Technology and Innovation and a Professor of Law at North Carolina Central University School of Law and oversees the operation of the NCCU Technology Law & Policy Center. She is the author of the recently published book, Artificial Intelligence and Academic Integrity.

Professor Dawson received her undergraduate degree in computer science from Bennett College and was a computer programmer before attending law school. She received her law degree cum laude from Howard University School of Law in 1994, and joined the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) through its Attorney General’s Honors Program immediately after law school. While at DOJ, she argued cases before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits. In 1996, Professor Dawson served as a law clerk to the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

She is a frequent presenter on legal pedagogy and the use of technology in legal education. Professor Dawson has given several American Association of Law Schools (AALS) presentations and webinars, including Teaching with Technology for Maximum Student Engagement, Tech Productivity Tips for Law Faculty, and The Paperless Law Prof. Professor Dawson was the recipient of the 2021 AALS Technology, Law and Legal Education Section Award, and a 2022 ABA Women of Legal Tech Honoree.

Professor Dawson has also presented multiple times at the ABA TECHSHOW, presenting on the 2020 panels Skills Building: Best Practices for Teaching Tech to Law Students and the Tech Forward: New Jobs for New Lawyers; presenting Law of Technology vs. Law Practice Technology Courses: Who Should Teach and How to Design in 2021; and presenting on the 2022 panels Planning for a Successful Career: Tech to Improve Your Thinking and Creativity and The Untapped Opportunity: Rethinking Access to Justice to Grow Your Business.

Professor Dawson teaches and has taught a wide range of law school classes, including Constitutional Law, Supreme Court Seminar, Torts, Artificial Intelligence Foundations and the Law, Legal Technology Equity & Leadership, and has been voted Professor of the Year multiple times.

Professor Dawson is a member of the ABA Center for Innovation Governing Council, co-host of the ABA Innovation Network Podcast, Vice Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association Future of Law Committee, and immediate past Chair of the AALS Section on Technology, Law and Legal Education. She is also a member of the North Carolina Governor’s Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, and vice chair of the Board of Directors for Democracy NC.

Professor Dawson also co-hosts the Legal Eagle Review radio show with her colleague, Irving Joyner, on WNCU 90.7 FM, in which weekly live interviews shed light on law-related concerns for people in the local community, as well as at the state and national level.