She has worked everywhere from the US and the UK to Europe and South Africa
Diana Bowman’s guiding light was always curiosity.
Speaking to Australasian Lawyer, the law and tech expert said she had never really mapped out where her career would go, though she hoped she could go international. And that was exactly what happened – to date, Bowman has worked in Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, South Africa, and North America.
However, she always knew she would return to Australia.
“Going to the US was just an incredible opportunity to get exposure and opportunities that I perhaps wouldn't have had but for taking that leap of faith”, Bowman told Australasian Lawyer. “But I was always looking for a position to come home to, though it had to be the right position at the right time”.
“It's been a huge learning curve for me because everything's new, but that's part of what really drew me to the position. I'm growing a school, I'm creating a sense of identity for this school, and I'm doing it with incredible people around me”, she said. “One of the big pulls associated with the position was that I don't have to deal with legacy infrastructure; I get to reimagine what a law school looks like today, especially with AI now coming in and dominating so much of the conversation around legal education and what it means to be a lawyer”.
As dean, a key priority for Bowman is developing students who are fluent both in the law and in tech savviness, which would make them more employable. Her expertise in the intersection of technology and law was birthed from her being a double major in law and science.
“I always wanted to be able to use my science background and apply that to my legal background. I happened to fall into a Ph.D topic in law that was around the regulation of an emerging technology at that time. I loved it because I could pick up an engineering or IT journal and understand the science and then put in a policy dimension to it”, she told Australasian Lawyer.
Bowman’s work overseas showed just how valuable her skillset was and how it allowed her to work across nanotechnology, biotechnology, CRISPR and advanced IVF technologies as well as lawmakers and regulators worldwide.
“As I was working in Europe, in the US and in Australia, I found that part of the challenge in terms of how we think about regulating technology is that scientists speak one language, and lawyers and policy makers speak another language”, she said. “Having that double degree combination meant that I had a role as an interpreter taking from that fundamental science and putting it into language that the policymakers and the lawyers could understand and vice versa. I've always found it to be a really incredible combination of skills to have”.
Thus, Bowman’s one piece of advice for new law students is to “be bold and to believe in themselves”.
“So often we just doubt ourselves, especially when we're young. I want all students to feel like they've got this. I can't say I was a straight A student the whole time - I struggled like every other law student. That's part of it”, she told Australasian Lawyer. “I've just always been curious. And when different questions or opportunities have arisen, I've so often just jumped into the deep end, not knowing whether I'm going to sink or swim. That has given me extraordinary opportunities around the world, and I feel so very privileged to have had them”.
