Jindal Global Law School hosts Law Schools Global League Deans’ Meeting

 
The Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) of JGU hosted the prestigious Law Schools Global League (LSGL) Deans’ Meeting and Academic Conference in February. The 2026 conference was organised around the theme ‘Law and the Digital Future: Reimagining Global Legal Education’, reflecting the profound and accelerating impact of artificial intelligence and digital technologies on legal systems, legal practice, and the foundations of legal pedagogy worldwide.

The four-day event brought together 40 Deans and senior academics from 24 leading universities and law schools across the world, reaffirming JGLS’s role as a global convenor of legal scholarship, institutional leadership, and transformative dialogue on the future of law.

The Law Schools Global League (LSGL) is a partnership of 32 leading law schools committed to advancing the globalisation of legal education and embedding international perspectives into research, curriculum design, and institutional strategy. The annual Deans’ Meeting serves as a leadership forum for strategic deliberation, while the Academic Conference provides a platform for scholars to engage with pressing global questions.

The event commenced with a guided tour of India’s first Constitution Museum established at JGU, followed by a formal welcome reception. Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of JGU and Dean of JGLS, delivered the opening address titled ‘The JGU Story’, tracing the remarkable journey of JGU as an institution built upon the principles of academic excellence, global engagement, and public service.

Reflecting on the significance of hosting the LSGL, Prof. Raj Kumar stated, “The future of legal education must be guided by a deep commitment to constitutional values, the rule of law, and global justice. In an era shaped by artificial intelligence and rapid technological disruption, law schools must ensure that innovation strengthens democracy, expands access to justice, and reinforces human dignity.” He further said that global collaboration among leading law schools is indispensable to preparing lawyers who are globally literate, technologically informed, and ethically grounded.

The Deans’ Meeting opened with welcome remarks by Prof. (Dr.) Dipika Jain, Executive Dean of JGLS and Director of the Centre for Justice, Law and Society, alongside Prof. (Dr.) Soledad Atienza and Prof. (Dr.) Eleonora Lozano. The Opening Plenary, titled ‘The Rule of Law in the Age of AI – Reimagining Justice in an Algorithmic World’ was chaired by Prof. Raj Kumar. The plenary brought together Hon’ble Mr. Justice U.U. Lalit, Prof. (Dr.) B.S. Chimni, Ms. Arya Tripathy, and Mr. Aviral Sahai to examine the constitutional and ethical implications of algorithmic governance and artificial intelligence in judicial systems. Subsequent sessions focused on LSGL initiatives and featured a panel on geopolitical challenges shaping global higher education, with contributions from Prof. Soledad Atienza, Prof. Joshua Teitelbaum, Dr. Jane Wathuta, Prof. Joyce Sadka, and other distinguished participants.

The Academic Conference on ‘AI, Legal Practice, and Pedagogical Transformation’ began with remarks by Prof. Dipika Jain and a keynote lecture on ‘AI’s Impact on the Legal Profession’ delivered by Prof. Juan David Gutierrez Rodriguez and Prof. Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm.

• Panel I: AI and Legal Practice, moderated by Prof. Lucas Lixinski, featured Prof. Tito Rendas, Prof. Francesca Bichiri, Prof. Joyce Sadka, Prof. Fernando Pastor-Merchante, and Prof. Dov Greenbaum.
• Panel II: Transforming Legal Education for the AI Era, moderated by Prof. Paul James Cardwell, included Prof. Eva Desana, Prof. Svetlana Tyulkina, and Ms. Lize-Mari Mitchell.
• A second keynote by Prof. Gavin Sullivan addressed the implications of artificial intelligence for global socio-legal research.
• Panel III: Governing AI, moderated by Prof. Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm, featured Dr. Jane Wathuta, Ms. Laura Lellau, Prof. Surabhi Bhandari, and Prof. Mia Callegari.
• The final panel, focusing on Decolonial and Global South Perspectives, moderated by Prof. Rodrigo Vianna, included Prof. Surabhi Bhandari, Mr. Michael Aboneka, Prof. Sebastian Krafzik, Prof. Kea Motlogeloa, Dr. Melissa Muindi, and Prof. Francesca Iurlaro.

Across sessions, participants engaged in rigorous discussions on uncertainty and accountability in AI-driven systems, regulatory responses to emerging technologies, the ethical integration of large language models in classrooms, reimagining assessment methodologies, and the implications of AI for access to justice. Panels also explored geopolitical challenges shaping global higher education and examined structural inequalities embedded within digital infrastructures. A significant strand of the conference foregrounded decolonial, comparative, and Global South perspectives, emphasising that the digital transformation of law must be examined through the lenses of equity, history, and power.

The LSGL delegation included leading scholars and institutional leaders from globally renowned universities, including: Prof. Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm, University of Edinburgh; Prof. Soledad Atienza, IE Law School; Prof. Eleonora Lozano, Universidad de los Andes; Prof. Martin Hogg, University of Galway; Prof. Laura Carlson, Stockholm University; Prof. Joshua Charles Teitelbaum, Georgetown University Law Center; Prof. Russell Korobkin, UCLA School of Law; Prof. James Speta, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law; Prof. Sergio Guerra and Prof. Maria Lucia Padua Lima, FGV Direito Rio and FGV Direito São Paulo; Prof. Dov Greenbaum, Reichman University; Prof. Jutta Brunnée, University of Toronto; Prof. Paul James Cardwell, King’s College London; Prof. Joan Loughrey, Queen’s University Belfast; Prof. Lucas Lixinski, Prof. Ben Golder, and Prof. Andrew Lynch, UNSW Sydney; Prof. Joyce Sadka, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México; Prof. Tito Rendas, Católica Global School of Law; Dr. Jane Wathuta and Dr. Melissa Muindi, Strathmore Law School. Their participation reflected the depth, diversity, and intellectual leadership of the LSGL network.

Beyond academic deliberations, the LSGL convening resulted in concrete institutional outcomes. JGLS engaged extensively with partner institutions to explore new and expanded avenues of collaboration in student exchange, faculty mobility, and joint research initiatives. Discussions centred on visiting professorships, collaborative research clusters, and structured academic mobility frameworks reaffirm JGLS’s commitment to deepening global partnerships through sustained and impactful engagement.

Alongside the conference, JGLS hosted the LSGL LL.M. Fair 2026, which brought together leading law schools from across the world to engage directly with aspiring LL.M. candidates in India. More than 400 students interacted with programme administrators and faculty representatives, gaining first-hand insights into postgraduate offerings, application processes, and global career pathways. The Fair underscored JGLS’s commitment to facilitating informed academic choices and expanding international opportunities for Indian law graduates.

The successful hosting of the LSGL Deans’ Meeting and Academic Conference marks a significant milestone for Jindal Global Law School and JGU. By convening leading Deans and scholars from across continents to engage in rigorous dialogue on law, technology, and global governance, JGLS has reaffirmed its commitment to academic excellence and international collaboration while strengthening its role as a catalyst for shaping the next generation of legal thought. The conversations initiated during the LSGL Deans’ Meeting and Academic Conference will continue to inform institutional partnerships, research agendas, and pedagogical innovation, ensuring that legal education remains responsive, inclusive, and grounded in the enduring values of justice, accountability, and the rule of law in an increasingly digital age.

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