Judge Margaret McKeown to keynote Seattle U Law’s 2026 TILE Symposium

Seattle University School of Law’s TILE Institute will host its annual symposium on Sept. 29 in Seattle, with Ninth Circuit Senior Judge Margaret McKeown delivering the keynote. The program will focus on how AI is reshaping contracts, legal education, ethics and access to justice.

Why it matters: - The symposium will focus on how artificial intelligence could improve access to justice or deepen inequality across the legal system. - The program targets issues with direct impact on lawyers, judges, law students and the public, including contracts, professional ethics and legal education.

What happened: - Seattle University School of Law’s Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics Institute will hold its annual symposium on Tuesday, Sept. 29, in Room C5 of Sullivan Hall. - Ninth Circuit Senior Judge Margaret McKeown, Seattle University School of Law’s jurist-in-residence, will deliver the keynote address. - School of Law Dean Anthony E. Varona and Margaret Chon, professor of law and faculty director of the TILE Institute, will give opening remarks. - Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., opening remarks begin at 10:15 a.m., and a reception will follow the program. - The event is titled “Legal Technology for Equitable Justice: Expanding Integrity, Privacy, and Education in an Ever-Evolving AI Landscape.”

The details: - The symposium will examine AI’s implications in three areas: contracts, AI and access to justice; legal education and AI; and legal practice and ethical access to technology. - Chon said the symposium is intended to address how AI can both improve access to justice and entrench inequality, while raising concerns about integrity in the legal system. - Speakers will come from Seattle University School of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, WashU Law, the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Suffolk University Law School, the University of Minnesota Law School, the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, Microsoft, Amazon, King County Superior Court and private practice. - The symposium is co-sponsored by the Seattle University Law Review. - The complete agenda and speaker list are available on the symposium website. - The TILE Institute focuses on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, privacy, intellectual property, entrepreneurship and the ethical use of technology in legal practice.

Between the lines: - The speaker mix signals an effort to bridge academia, the courts and major technology companies in one discussion about AI governance. - The emphasis on integrity, privacy and education suggests the law school is framing AI less as a novelty and more as a core professional and institutional issue. - The award presentation to Robert C. Cumbow closes the event by recognizing alumni leadership within the legal community.

What's next: - The symposium will end with a reception and the TILE Institute Alumnus of the Year Award presentation to Robert C. Cumbow, partner at Miller Nash LLP and a 1991 Seattle University School of Law graduate. - Registration and the full agenda remain available ahead of the Sept. 29 program.