Date: Thursday, June 25, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET/12:00 PM– 1:00 PM CT/11:00 AM – 12:00 PM MT/10:00 AM – 11:00AM PT
As artificial intelligence reshapes the landscape of legal practice by automating document review, accelerating legal research, generating first-draft writing, and streamlining routine tasks, a critical and clarifying truth emerges: the skills that define genuine excellence in law are precisely the ones that AI elevates. While AI excels at information processing and task automation, the irreducible core of legal practice remains beyond the reach of any algorithm. Sound judgment, sophisticated analysis, authentic advocacy, meaningful communication, emotional intelligence, relationship and trust building, conflict resolution, consensus building, and the full range of leadership and management competencies are essential components of a lawyer’s professional obligations. In this presentation Professor Leah Teague and Dean April Barton draw on their experience teaching both Leadership Development and AI Law and Policy to assert that the AI moment demands that lawyers invest in these capacities with greater intentionality than ever before.
April M. Barton, Dean and Professor of Law, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University
Since becoming dean in 2019, Barton has helped steer Duquesne Kline School of Law through a period of transformative change. Under her leadership the Law School has risen 40 spots in U.S. News and World Report rankings, the largest increase of any law school in the nation in 2022-2023. The significant increase was due to revised methodology that factored in employment outcomes and bar passage, areas of consistent strength for Duquesne Kline School of Law, and she remains focused on the law school’s top 100 ranking.
She has guided an application volume increase of more than 96% over the past several years, consistently outpacing national and regional volume trends. Employment outcomes and bar passage continue to be of the highest priority, and the Law School is known to repeatedly outperform other schools with significantly higher admissions metrics. Under her leadership, Duquesne Kline School of Law has brought in the most competitive classes in history, continuing to strengthen LSAT and GPA metrics, while simultaneously increasing enrollment. She also oversaw a successful American Bar Association (ABA) Self Study and Site Visit in 2021-2022.
President Gormley secured a 50M commitment to the School of Law, the largest gift in University history, by alumnus Thomas R. Kline during her tenure. Accordingly, she facilitated the historic renaming of School of Law to the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University. In addition, she helped manage significant physical renovations to Law School building, including a magnificent limestone and glass front entrance, archival conference room, and complete renovation of the student lounge and food court.
Nationally she has served the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) on the Deans’ Steering Committee, the AALS 2024 Conference Planning Committee, and as Chair of the AALS Leadership Section.
She has worked with faculty to develop curricular innovations in Leadership Development, Technology and AI, Innovation and IP, International Law (including launching a faculty exchange with the University of Sorbonne, Paris), Business and Financial Literacy (including a Mini-MBA and joint JD/MBA program), and flexible evening division program. Barton is a tenured professor and teaches courses in AI Law & Policy and Law & Leadership.
She previously held various positions at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, most recently as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Barton successfully launched initiatives on leadership development, including a student Lawyers as Leaders program and a new course, Leadership and Management Skills for Lawyers. At Villanova, Barton taught courses in administrative agency rulemaking, computer law, the First Amendment and regulation in cyberspace, and digital law. She previously served as the director of the JD/MBA and JD/MPA joint degree programs.
In addition to authoring Best Practices for Building a High-Tech Law School: The Process of Designing Educational Spaces published by the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Barton’s work has been published in law reviews including the Washington University Law Review, Baylor Law Review, and the Minnesota Journal of Law, Science and Technology. She is a frequent speaker and has presented and moderated discussions on artificial intelligence, teaching leadership in law school, promoting diversity, innovations in law school teaching, distance learning, technology, and classrooms of the future. Barton also has testified before the U.S. Congressional Commission on Online Child Protection in Washington D.C. and the European Commission for Democracy through Law, Venice Commission, in Brussels. Barton served as an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Division of Marketing Practices, where she worked on policy and law enforcement issues related to internet fraud and deception.
Leah Witcher Jackson Teague, Professor of Law and Director of Leadership Development, Baylor University Law School
Professor Leah Teague comes from a three-generation Baylor Law family. She followed in her father’s and brother’s footsteps and attended Baylor University (B.B.A., summa cum laude). After earning her J.D. cum laude, she entered private practice for four years. Her primary focus was tax planning which led her to teach tax and business classes after joining the faculty. Over the years, she primarily taught courses on basic federal income taxation, taxation of business entities, taxation of individuals, and real estate finance while also serving as the Associate Dean for many years.
Professor Teague currently teaches the Leadership Engagement and Development course, which is a course she creates as part of Baylor Law’s unique and award winning Leadership Development Program. She serves as the director of this nationally recognized program. Through the program, Teague works to enhance the professional identity formation and leadership development of our students while working on a national level to better prepare future lawyers for the important roles lawyers are expected to assume as leaders and difference-makers in our society. Professor Teague also teaches Client Relations and Basic Business for Lawyers that she created.
Recognizing that being a lawyer is a privilege that requires her to give back to society, she spends significant time in service to the profession and her community. She has been heavily involved in worthy efforts from local to national organizations. On a national level, she was instrumental in the creation of a new section within the American Association of Law Schools. The AALS Section for Leadership was created to promote scholarship, teaching, and related activities that will help prepare lawyers and law students to be better prepared to serve in positions of influence and impact as lawyers. She served as Chair of the Section in 2020 and continues to serve on the Executive Committee in order to play a vital role in the continuing development and growth of the section.
For many years, she served as an appointed member of the American Council on Education’s Women Network Executive Council, a national advisory council to the Women’s State Network, where she chaired the council’s New Initiative Committee which led its Moving the Needle Initiative aimed at increasing the national awareness of the economic and social benefits of, and therefore importance of, greater diversity in leadership. She also joined other academic leaders from the U.S. and abroad to discuss the status of women leaders in society when she was invited to participate in two Oxford Round Tables.
In Texas, she currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Texas Federal Tax Institute. Appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas, she served on the Professional Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Texas. She is an elected member of the Texas Bar Foundation. She is an alumnae of the Leadership Texas, as well as the Leadership America program. She was selected as a Woman of Distinction by the Blue Bonnet Council of Girl Scouts. She was the founding co-chair of the Texas Women in Higher Education, Inc.
Locally, Teague serves on the board of Creative Waco. She served on the board of directors and chair of the Governance Committee for Start Up Waco, a non-profit created to lead Waco’s entrepreneurial support efforts and elevate Waco as a hub for business innovation.. She is a past president of the Waco McLennan County Bar Association. She has been actively involved in organizations that support the education of the community’s young people. As a founding member of the Greater Waco Community Education Alliance leadership team, she worked with other community leaders to increase the community’s active involvement in supporting the education of every student in the greater Waco community. She was also a founding member of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce’s LEAD program which provides promising high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds with a mentor from the business community. She was a founding member of the Midway Education Foundation board of directors. She served as a member of Waco ISD’s Partners in Education Advisory Board. She taught Sunday school for elementary and intermediate grade school children for over 15 years. She was recognized as an Outstanding Alumnus for Leadership Waco and a Distinguished Alumni of Midway High School. She served as the chair of the American Heart Association Waco Heart Walk.
She writes and speaks on leadership, non-profit, tax, and business topics and she is frequently asked to give motivational speeches to youth delivering a message that emphasizes the importance of education, commitment, and perseverance in pursuing their dreams.
When her daughters were young, she spent significant time assisting her two daughters’ softball and volleyball teams. “We spent countless nights and weekends practicing and training, and we traveled to more places than I can remember, but I treasure every experience with them, even my broken fingers and other minor injuries along the way. My daughters and I learned many valuable life lessons through their athletic experiences. I’m so proud of what they accomplished. Not many mothers can brag about having a daughter who was the winning pitcher for four Little League World Series Championship Teams. I’m even more proud of the incredible professional women they have become.” Both of her daughters, as well as her son-in-law, graduated from Baylor University with advanced degrees. One of her daughters is a graduate of Baylor Law.
Professor Teague also believes in heart-healthy living. She participated in numerous triathlons, marathons, and trail runs and Spartan events. She remembers her first full marathon and her first full Ironman triathlon as some of her most challenging experiences in life. “Endurance races are true tests of your physical and mental tenacity. When my son-in-law first said we should sign up for an Ironman (swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles, and run 26. 2 miles) I told him he was crazy! That sounded impossible. Finding the training time, as well as the resolve, to push one’s body to its physical limits and beyond while meeting all your professional and personal commitments was a daunting juggling act,” she adds, “but training with good friends and my son-in-law – as well as that feeling of accomplishment when you cross the finish line – made it all worthwhile.” She completed two full Ironmans, and numerous half Ironmans, marathons, half-marathons, century rides and other distance events. She still enjoys running and other outdoor activities.
Teague and her husband Ted are active members of the Waco community. Professor Teague also enjoys oil painting, cooking, baking, traveling, and time with her children and grandchildren, which is a high priority and joy
