Meet Hofstra Laws Inaugural The Deans Legal-Tech Fellows | News

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Three Hofstra law students and three Hofstra computer science students make up the inaugural class of The Deans Legal-Tech Fellows, a new interdisciplinary initiative established in 2022 to develop artificial intelligence applications that will advance the legal profession.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to bring law and computer science students together and have them use each other’s expertise to collaboratively create software that will improve our legal system, says John Tsiforas, director of law and technology at Hofstra Law.

For their first project, the fellows were tasked with developing a bilingual chatbot to guide users through the New York State Small Claims Court system and help users file claims. The fellows are working collaboratively through each stage of the software development lifecycle, says Professor Tsiforas.

Each year, through an application process, three law students from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law and three computer science students from the DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science are selected for the Fellowship.

The Deans Legal Tech Fellows Sandro Amaglobeli

Sandro Amaglobeli is a rising sophomore at Hofstra University, majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics. Originally from Tbilisi, Georgia, Sandro has always been fascinated by the possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI) and mathematics. Since childhood, he has envisioned a world where self-driving cars were widely accessible for public use. Sandros’ academic pursuits are motivated by his desire to use deep learning and machine learning technologies to improve current autonomous vehicles. He hopes to use his skills to benefit the public by maximizing their safety and productivity.

Philip Coatl

Philip Coatl is a graduate of Hunter College with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Lui went on to earn a master’s degree in medical technology invention and marketing through the interdisciplinary Masters in Translational Medicine program at the City College of New York. The program exposed him to the world of intellectual property and its crucial role in the innovation landscape. The following year, before attending law school, Philip signed up for a fellowship to further delve into the technology he and his biodesign team created during their undergraduate studies. Fascinated by this intersection of law and science, Philips’ goal became to pursue a career in intellectual property law.

Jalen Coleman

Jalen Coleman holds a BA in Marketing from Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). She is no stranger to challenges and during her time at SCSU she competed on the track and field and cross country teams. Her initial passion for law came from her advanced placement government class in high school and after taking a few business law classes in college, she rekindled that spark. Jalen is a first generation law student. She has not yet defined what specific area she would like to practice in, however her main focus is on providing legal services to underrepresented and underrepresented groups.

Uriya Sabah

Uriya Sabah is from Cedarhurst, New York, and holds a BA in Computer Science and Mathematics from Hofstra University, where he has been involved in several research projects oriented towards artificial intelligence. Uriya was involved in Hofstra’s ASPiRe program, where he worked alongside Hofstra/Northwell students in machine learning-based research. While he’s not sure what kind of software developer he wants to be, he is pursuing his Masters in Computer Science at Hofstra University in hopes that he can use his degree to provide tools for people with disabilities to assist in their daily lives. .

Najelie Smith-Ortiz

Najelie Smith-Ortiz was born in Bayamn, Puerto Rico. She later moved to Kansas and then to New York with her family due to her father’s enlistment in the US Army Reserve and her employer. She attended Honors College at SUNY Old Westbury, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology with a minor in pre-legal studies at age 19.

During her college degree, Najelie studied criminal behavior and volunteered at the Nassau County Juvenile Detention Center. After completing her degree, Najelie worked as a paralegal for Spanish-speaking workers compensation and personal injury. Her passion for law is evident in her work as a legal technology fellow, where she, along with fellow legal technology fellows, strives to break down barriers and bridge the gap between legal professionals and ordinary individuals through innovative technologies. As a first generation law student, Najelie hopes to serve as a source of trust for those who lack confidence in the legal system and legal professionals. Najelie is a fierce supporter of the Hispanic community. She is determined to use her law degree and fluency in Spanish to further assist and empower the Hispanic community in any area of ​​law she practices during her career.

Tofigh hands

Mani Tofigh, of Persian origin, was born in Tehran, Iran, in 2004. His passion for the digital world started when he started studying the C++ programming language in sixth grade. This led him to join his middle school robotics team as a programmer, where he had the opportunity to learn other programming languages ​​such as Arduino and Python. As a result, Mani has participated in several national and international competitions, including RoboCup IranOpen, FIRA RoboWorldCup and RoboCup Asia-Pacific.

During his high school years, he realized that pursuing a future outside his home country could offer him better opportunities. In the eighth grade, he decided to pursue a Computer Science (BS) degree in the United States. Finally, he moved to New York in 2022 for high school after graduating from high school in Iran.

Learn more about The Deans Legal-Tech Fellowship.

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