Department/Organization
218131 - General Law Studies
Rank
Instructor
Position Summary
The University of Alabama School of Law is inviting applications for its inaugural AI Risk Governance Fellow. The fellowship is part of the School’s AI Studies Initiative led by professor Yonathan Arbel. We are seeking a promising junior legal scholar to join this fellowship program, preferably to begin in the 2026-2027 academic year. This fellowship is designed to prepare exceptional candidates for success on the entry-level tenure-track law teaching market while helping to establish and define a new field of legal scholarship at a critical moment in AI development. Candidates must have outstanding academic credentials, including a J.D. from an accredited law school or an equivalent degree (such as a Ph.D. in a related field) and should demonstrate potential for strong teaching and scholarship. We welcome applications from candidates who approach scholarship from a variety of perspectives and methods.
Detailed Position Information
The fellow will organize and lead scholarly activities at the intersection of law and AI safety, conduct original research on risk governance, teach and educate law students, and assist with media activities.
This fellowship will provide opportunities for mentorship and coaching, as well as institutional support, to assist fellows in seeking tenure-track positions in legal academia. Research areas may include (but are not limited to):
• Constitutional and administrative law approaches to AI regulation
• International coordination on AI safety governance
• Corporate governance and liability frameworks for AI development
• Criminal law applications to autonomous AI systems
• Antitrust considerations in AI safety regulation
• Private law solutions to AI alignment problems
• Tax and environmental law approaches to AI governance
This is a 12-month contract position and does not include the possibility of tenure. The contract will be for a 1-year period with the possibility of renewal for a second year. Salary, benefits, and research support will be nationally competitive. All applications are confidential to the extent permitted by state and federal law. Questions should be directed to professor Yonathan Arbel at yaarbel@ua.edu with the subject line “APPLICATION, AI Fellowship.”
Minimum Qualifications
Candidates must have outstanding academic credentials, including a J.D. from an accredited law school or an equivalent degree (such as a Ph.D. in a related field) and should demonstrate potential for strong teaching and scholarship.
Candidates must also have a demonstrated interest in pursuing legal academia, strong research and organizational capabilities, and intellectual curiosity about the intersection of law and emerging technology.
Preferred Qualifications
We encourage applications from recent law graduates or early-career legal academics who bring fresh perspectives to these challenges and are excited about the opportunity to establish foundational scholarship in an emerging field. Commitment to rigorous, interdisciplinary scholarship and a collaborative mindset and enthusiasm for engaging with diverse perspectives are preferred. A background or demonstrated interest in AI, technology policy, or related areas are preferred.
Instructions and Required Materials for Application
All applicants must apply for this position through the University of Alabama’s job site at https://careers.ua.edu/jobs/search/law and must submit the following materials: 1. Cover letter explaining your interest in the position and Law and AI Safety research 2. Curriculum vitae 3. Law school transcript (official or unofficial) 4. Writing sample (published or unpublished) 5. Names of two references (or copies of letters of reference)
About the Division/College/School
If you are interested in joining an outstanding law school with a strong academic community, enviable student bar passage and employment rates, a low student-to-faculty ratio, and curricular offerings with breadth and depth, all within a supportive and diverse environment, then Alabama Law is the place for you.
Alabama Law has long been an excellent place to seriously engage in both teaching and scholarship, and the academic community is taking notice. Members of our faculty are engaging a wide range of issues that are at the heart of debates over substantive and procedural law, public policy, historical understandings, and philosophical values. Their scholarship is published in leading university presses including Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge, Princeton, Yale, and NYU.
Our faculty’s academic engagement benefits our students, not only in the classroom but also as they enter the profession. Employment numbers for Alabama Law graduates nationwide continue to be a solid marker of the quality of our students and of the education they receive here. Recent data also indicate that Alabama Law is ranked among the top law schools for the percentage of graduates who secure federal judicial clerkships.
At the heart of what makes Alabama Law a superb place are our people—faculty, staff, and students. Here, you will find an impressive, motivated, and diverse community of colleagues. You can see and hear their contributions, not only in classrooms and hallways, but in other venues across the nation.
About the University
The University of Alabama is located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, named one of Travel + Leisure’s 25 Best College Towns and Cities in the U.S. As one of the nation’s premier universities, UA offers bachelor’s, master's and doctoral degrees in nearly 200 fields of study. With more than 1,400 acres of tree-lined academic core campus and over 300 state-of-the art facilities, UA has been ranked among the most beautiful and most impressive college campuses in the South, in the state of Alabama and in the nation.
In Fall 2023, the Capstone set a new enrollment record with more than 39,000 students, including more than 8,200 in the freshman class. The current enrollment includes students from every county in Alabama, every state in the nation and 92 countries around the world. More than 1,100 National Merit Scholars are currently enrolled, making UA one of the largest enrolling institutions of the scholars in the country.
UA was recently recognized as a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. students for the seventh time in nine years, as well as a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright U.S. Scholars for the first time. UA is one of only 12 universities in the nation to receive both honors.
For reasons like this, the University made Forbes list of America’s Top Colleges for 2023 and Time magazine’s list of Top 50 Best Colleges for Future Leaders. It also made Princeton Review’s list of Top Value Colleges.
UA is also designated among the top doctoral research universities in the United States in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. One of the fastest growing major research institutions in the nation, UA saw a 21% increase in sponsored awards in the 2023 fiscal year.
Since 2015, UA has invested over $1.1 billion in the physical campus, adding more than 2.55 million gross square feet of space, over 150 new research-intensive faculty, signature research areas (e.g., “The Alabama Research Institutes”), and a growing number of partnerships with industry and with state and federal agencies.
The University employs nearly 2,100 faculty and over 4,500 staff, with 52 UA researchers included in the National Academy of Inventors. An additional 40 current faculty have received the NSF CAREER Award, the nation’s most prestigious recognition of top performing young scientists in disciplines ranging from nanoscience and engineering to biological sciences.
Background Investigation and EEO Statement
Background Investigation Statement: Prior to hiring, the final candidate(s) must successfully pass a pre-employment background investigation and information obtained from social media and other internet sources. A prior conviction reported as a result of the background investigation DOES NOT automatically disqualify a candidate from consideration for this position. A candidate with a prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags will receive an individualized review of the prior conviction or negative behavioral red flags before a hiring decision is made.
Equal Employment Opportunity: The University of Alabama is an Equal Employment/Equal Educational Opportunity Institution. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment or volunteer status without regard to any legally protected basis and will not be discriminated against because of their protected status. Applicants and employees of this institution are protected under Federal law from discrimination on several bases. More information is available in the EEOC’s Know Your Rights: Workplace (https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf) discrimination is illegal poster.
The University of Alabama affirms its longstanding commitment to institutional neutrality, free speech, and academic freedom.
