Alyson Carrel Honored by AALS Section on Technology, Law and Legal Education

Alyson Carrel, Harry B. Reese Teaching Clinical Professor of Law and co-director of the Center on Negotiation and Mediation, was awarded the 2022 Technology, Law and Legal Education Section Award from the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). She was presented the award during the AALS Annual Meeting, which took place virtually this month.

The award goes to an individual in the technology, law and legal education section who has made significant contributions to the use of technology to enhance teaching, prepare students to use technology effectively in practice, and equip students to create technology to better the legal system. Carrel’s work with the Delta Model—a progressive and agile competency model for the 21st-century legal professional—does just that. It consists of three competency areas foundational to the success of today’s legal professional: The Practice, The People, and The Process, according to Design Your Delta.

“Alyson stood out as the primary AALS Section member leading this effort,” the AALS Awards Committee said in a statement. “The Delta Model provides a human-centered design approach to provide a unique way for legal professionals to chart a course for thriving in the 21st century. It has as part of its focus a holistic understanding of why technology fluency is important and how it supports success in the legal profession. The Delta Model is forward-thinking and represents the best of innovation in legal education, and Alyson Carrel embodies the spirit of the award as to ‘preparing students to use technology effectively in their learning and future practice.’”

“I am so honored that the AALS Section of Technology, Law, and Legal Education recognized the value and impact of the Delta Model and Design Your Delta projects with this award,” Carrel said. “For three years, I have worked with members of the Delta Model working group and my main collaborator, Cat Moon (Vanderbilt), to explore how the Delta Model can support the legal profession evolve in the face of complex change and uncertainty. It is heartening to learn of organizations adopting the Delta Model to assess and design initiatives through a more holistic lens, and to work with students, especially those who rarely feel like they belong, recognize their own worth and value in the profession and use the Design Your Delta tools to reclaim their definition of success.”

Carrel also thanked the Law School for its support during this three-year project. “It has been especially meaningful to have Dean Osofsky’s support on this project given her demonstrated commitment to ensuring students are best prepared to lead in this moment of change and uncertainty,” she said. Dean Osofsky, who was among those who nominated Carrel for the award, said: “Congratulations to Professor Carrel for this extremely well-deserved recognition of her important and innovative contributions,” Osofsky said. “Professor Carrel’s collaborative leadership to develop the Delta Model has created a needed step forward in how we think about lawyer competency. We are very fortunate that she is a part of our Northwestern Pritzker Law faculty and are excited for this project’s continued growth.”

Carrel is an active leader, presenter, and trainer in dispute resolution. She has provided negotiation and dispute resolution trainings for a wide variety of clients including large law firms like Baker McKenzie, government organizations such as HUD, corporations such as Coca-Cola, and nonprofit organizations. Until 2019, she led the Law School’s legal technology & innovation initiatives as the Assistant Dean of Law & Technology. In these roles, she received a grant to purchase wearable cameras for negotiation simulation courses, a fellowship to integrate the A2J Author platform in mediation advocacy courses, launched TEaCH LAW, a faculty instructional technology initiative, and was awarded the student-voted Outstanding Professor of a Small Class.