Raising the bar

THE EMORY LAW FACULTY will be bolstered this summer by two renowned scholars whose expertise will enrich the academic breadth of the law school’s offerings in artificial intelligence and property.

Then dean and Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Mary Anne Bobinski shared her eagerness to have these distinguished scholars join our esteemed faculty. She said, “My colleagues and I are delighted to have been able to recruit Professor Jessica Roberts to Emory and Atlanta. Professor Roberts is an outstanding scholar and teacher who offers specialized expertise in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence in health care law and genetics and the law. Professor Roberts will join a nationally regarded group of Emory Law faculty members who are experts in the intersection of AI with traditional legal doctrines impacting our economy and society.”

She added enthusiastically, “Emory Law is extremely pleased to have recruited Professor Dave Fagundes to join our faculty, too.” Professor Fagundes is a well-known scholar and an award-winning teacher whose expertise spans critically important fields such as property law, copyrights, real estate, and wills and trusts. We look forward to welcoming him.”

The excitement surrounding the new faculty extends to others within the administration who express eagerness to collaborate with their accomplished colleagues. “We are thrilled to have Professor Roberts and Professor Fagundes joining our faculty,” said Associate Dean for Research Kay Levine. “Individually, they are world-class scholars and dedicated teachers; together they are a powerful addition to Emory Law’s faculty.”

Collectively, these scholars will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to their classrooms, further solidifying the law school’s commitment to academic excellence.

Jessica Roberts

Acting Professor of Law in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Science

Jessica Roberts’ expertise is in the legal and ethical issues related to genetics and emerging health technologies, disability rights, and antidiscrimination law. She received her JD from Yale Law School and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Southern California. Her groundbreaking scholarship has received many distinguished honors, including being named Health Policy Scholar, Center for Medical Ethics & Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine and earning the 2022–2023 University of Houston Law Center Alumni Association Faculty Distinction Award.

Roberts’ research has garnered much acclaim, and her scholarship has appeared, or is forthcoming in Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, Science, Nature Biotechnology, and JAMA Health Policy, among others. Cambridge University

Press published her book Healthism: Health-Status Discrimination and the Law, co-authored with Elizabeth Weeks Leonard, in 2018. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Greenwall Foundation.

David Fagundes

Acting Professor of Law

David Fagundes joins the Emory Law faculty, bringing with him expertise and scholarship in property-related matters, including copyright, real estate, and wills and trusts. He is a graduate of both Harvard Law and Harvard College, receiving his JD in 2001 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1996. His research focuses on property’s abandonment doctrine, the Second Amendment and the constitutional status of municipal corporations, and the intersection of copyright and administrative law. Fagundes’s research was published in Cornell Law Review, William & Mary Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, and Northwestern Law Review, among others. He was elected to the American Law Institute in July 2020.

Fagundes began his teaching career at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California, where he was a professor from 2007 through 2016. Before entering academia, he worked as a Bigelow Fellow and lecturer in law at the University of Chicago Law School, an associate at the Washington, DC, office of Jenner & Block, LLP, and a clerk to Judge David S. Tatel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.