In 1980, the year IBM hired Paul Allen and Bill Gates to create an operating system for a new PC, Professor George Trubow of The John Marshall Law School had the foresight to recognize the technology revolution, and began developing courses that focused on computers and their impact on law, business and privacy.
Two years later, Trubow organized Law for the Information Era as a new curriculum concentration at the law school, recognizing it as a “new and developing area of legal practice.” He founded the Center for Information Technology and Privacy Law at John Marshall in 1983. It became the first Center of its kind in the country.
Trubow set three goals for the Center: 1) Reinforce the protection of individual privacy; 2) Monitor and evaluate the economic, social and political effects of information technology and practices as they relate to law; 3) Train attorneys in technology and privacy law.
Trubow’s experiences and insights helped him structure the Center. Between 1965 and 1975—long before the population thought about computers—Trubow was examining major issues as deputy counsel for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Improvements in Judicial Machinery; deputy director at the Office of Law Enforcement Programs and director of the Office of Inspection and Review for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration at the U.S. Department of Justice; and general counsel for the Domestic Council Committee on the Right of Privacy, which was a cabinet-level committee chaired by then Vice President Gerald Ford.
Trubow also undertook a study on personal privacy and information technology for the American Bar Association.
“We all owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Emeritus George Trubow. This Center has had a remarkable 30 years on the cutting edge of law,” said Professor Leslie Ann Reis, the current director of the Center. “Professor Trubow’s pragmatic concerns for one’s privacy and security have come to fruition.
“Today we deal with legal questions on a daily basis examining the role computers are playing in our personal privacy, in Internet security nationally and internationally, in commerce, and a wealth of other areas. Computers have been a revolutionizing force in our lives, and Professor Trubow was able to recognize that more than 30 years ago.”
Under Trubow’s leadership, the Center’s national reputation grew. In 1998, the John Marshall faculty approved an LLM degree in Information Technology and Privacy Law. The Center also offers an MS degree for persons with computer backgrounds.
The Center has recognized new areas of concentration, including Cyberspace Law taught in 1995 as the first course of its kind in the country. Throughout time the Center has continued expanding its course roster, to include Global Privacy, Technology in Legal Practice, Social Media, Information Security, Electronic Commerce Law, Information Warfare and Electronic Espionage, E-Discovery, Digital Evidence, and Health Information Privacy.
On Thursday and Friday, Sept. 27 and 28, 2012, The John Marshall Law School will mark the 30th anniversary of the Center by presenting “The Development of Privacy Law from Brandeis to Today,” as the Belle R. and Joseph H. Braun Memorial Symposium. The program also is in recognition of former United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Arthur J. Goldberg who was a faculty member from 1938 to 1942.
Details on the program and 30th anniversary celebration the evening of Sept. 28, 2012, are at events.jmls.edu/Braun.