December 07, 2021

Professor Joins Lewis & Clark Law School and its Center for Business Law and Innovation

Experienced in law and technology, patent law, business law, and property, Professor Tabrez Ebrahim is a welcome addition to the Lewis & Clark faculty.

Tabrez Ebrahim will join the Lewis & Clark Law School faculty this fall 2022, as an associate professor teaching Property, Wills and Trusts, and other courses in the business law program, the Center for Business Law and Innovation.

“We are delighted to welcome Professor Ebrahim,” said Dean Jennifer Johnson. “His extensive background in a number of areas of property law, as well as his varied interests in entrepreneurship and the intersection of intellectual property and Islamic law, is a strong addition to our already stellar business law faculty.”

Ebrahim currently serves as an associate professor at California Western School of Law. He will be a visiting associate professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in spring 2022 and served as a visiting associate professor at University of Iowa College of Law fall 2021. He earned his JD and MBA degrees from Northwestern University and holds a Masters of Science degree in Engineering from Stanford University. Prior to entering the legal academy, Ebrahim’s professional experience included law practice, technology entrepreneurship, management, and engineering.

Ebrahim has taught a number of property courses, published papers that engage in property theory, and served as an executive committee member of the AALS Section on Property Law. He serves as a board advisor to a real estate technology startup, and uses that experience as well as his past professional career, to provide relatable and practical information to his property students.

His scholarship interests include law and technology, patent law, and business law. Ebrahim’s papers on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data, and patent law issues, among others, are published in numerous law review articles and in a book chapter. He is a registered U.S. patent attorney.

A developing area of his research stream is the intersection of Islamic law and patent law. “Patents should be construed differently in countries that follow Islamic law,” explains Ebrahim. “For example, moral and ethical considerations, as well as access to technologies, should be more prominent considerations within Islamic law than in more secular legal systems. Additionally, U.S. patent law scholars and policymakers can learn from another tradition through comparative research that conceptualizes patents within a religious body of law.”

The business law faculty – as well as the students – are looking forward to collaborating with professor Ebrahim. Students in the Data Privacy Group got a head start, inviting him to be a panelist at the Data Privacy Forum on February 4 2022. “I am looking forward to advising students that are interested in data privacy and careers involving law and technology. And I am thrilled about interacting with the business, patent law, and technology communities in Portland,” said Ebrahim.