Northeastern University School of Law Names Professor Hemanth C. Gundavaram as Associate Dean for Learning Innovation

08.25.26 —Northeastern University School of Law has appointed Professor Hemanth C. Gundavaram as associate dean for learning innovation, a newly created leadership role charged with guiding the school’s strategic response to the integration of artificial intelligence across legal education, practice and professional responsibility. The appointment aligns with Northeastern University’s broader standing as a global leader in experiential, technology-forward education. The university's signature co-op model — which places law students in real-world professional environments across legal practice areas and industries — positions Northeastern Law students to engage with AI not just theoretically, but in live practice settings.

“The legal profession is at an inflection point, and our students deserve to graduate not just aware of AI, but genuinely prepared to use it responsibly and effectively,” said Dean James Hackney. “Hemanth brings the pedagogical depth, institutional relationships and intellectual rigor this role demands. His appointment reflects our belief that how we teach lawyers to engage with AI will define the profession for a generation.”

In his new capacity, Gundavaram will serve as the school’s central resource on AI across the curriculum, lead faculty development, shape classroom policy, develop student-facing AI literacy and practice-readiness programming, and represent Northeastern Law in university-wide and external conversations about the future of legal education. His role will ensure that Northeastern Law students graduate with the competencies the profession now requires: the ability to utilize AI tools effectively, evaluate AI-generated work product, protect client confidentiality in AI-assisted workflows, supervise AI use by others and navigate the ethical dimensions of an increasingly automated practice.

Gundavaram joined the Northeastern Law faculty in 2014. Over the past three years, he served as associate dean for academic and faculty affairs. He also serves as director of clinical programs, overseeing close to a dozen clinics and practicums that collectively provide more than 25,000 hours of pro bono legal services each year. In 2025, he was selected to receive Northeastern University’s John Portz Faculty Excellence Award. As he steps down from the associate dean for academic and faculty affairs position, he brings the institutional knowledge and faculty relationships built over that tenure directly into this new initiative.

“We are entering a moment that will require lawyers to be both technically fluent and ethically grounded,” said Gundavaram. “AI does not replace legal judgment but instead puts a premium on it. My goal is to ensure our students leave here knowing how to harness these tools critically, verify their outputs rigorously, and keep the client’s interest at the center of every decision.”

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