Preparing Lawyers for the Rise of Industry Self-Regulation
Howard Smith, Executive Director, Center for Industry Self-Regulation
As industries increasingly turn to self-regulation, a form of “soft law,” a gap is emerging between how law is taught and how it is practiced. Addressing that gap is becoming a priority for both academia and industry leaders.
At the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University (ASU), that effort is already underway. In partnership with BBB National Programs’ Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR), the law school has developed the first graduate-level curriculum in the United States focused specifically on industry self-regulation. The seminar was piloted in the spring 2025 semester and is being taught again this semester.
Several forces are driving this shift:
In this environment, soft law can offer a faster, more flexible, and adaptive approach, allowing industries to respond more quickly while maintaining accountability.
Whether serving as in-house attorneys or outside counsel, lawyers increasingly need to understand how to evaluate and operate within self-regulatory frameworks. These systems can provide effective alternatives to traditional regulatory or litigation pathways, particularly in fast-moving sectors.
Yet legal education has been slow to adapt. While law schools continue to train students in litigation, regulation, and transactions, they have largely overlooked self-regulation as a distinct and essential area of practice.
The course introduces students to how soft law operates across a range of contexts, including:
As ASU Professor Gary Marchant, who created and teaches the course, has noted, “self-regulation is no longer a niche area of law—it’s becoming a central component of how industries manage legal and ethical challenges.” At the same time, traditional regulation has long been emphasized in legal education, while self-regulation has been largely overlooked. This initiative aims to correct that imbalance by equipping students with tools that reflect how legal problems are increasingly addressed in practice.
These sessions bring the mechanics of soft law into focus, translating theory into applied governance. Through them, students gain a clearer understanding of how self-regulation functions in practice: where it succeeds, where its limits lie, how it interacts with government regulation, and how lawyers play a central role in designing, implementing, and enforcing these frameworks across industries.
Request the Curriculum
CISR’s work is focused on accelerating this shift, bridging theory and practice and preparing lawyers for a regulatory environment where soft law is essential.
As industries increasingly turn to self-regulation, a form of “soft law,” a gap is emerging between how law is taught and how it is practiced. Addressing that gap is becoming a priority for both academia and industry leaders.
At the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University (ASU), that effort is already underway. In partnership with BBB National Programs’ Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR), the law school has developed the first graduate-level curriculum in the United States focused specifically on industry self-regulation. The seminar was piloted in the spring 2025 semester and is being taught again this semester.
Why Soft Law Is More Important Than Ever
Self-regulation is no longer a niche concept. It is becoming a core mechanism through which industries manage legal and ethical challenges.Several forces are driving this shift:
- Technological acceleration: Advances in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and neurotechnology are outpacing traditional regulatory systems.
- Evolving legal frameworks: Judicial developments have narrowed the scope of agency authority, creating space for alternative governance approaches.
- Global policy trends: Broader deregulatory movements are placing greater responsibility on industries to establish and enforce their own standards.
In this environment, soft law can offer a faster, more flexible, and adaptive approach, allowing industries to respond more quickly while maintaining accountability.
Implications for Legal Practice
For lawyers, this shift is immediate and practical.Whether serving as in-house attorneys or outside counsel, lawyers increasingly need to understand how to evaluate and operate within self-regulatory frameworks. These systems can provide effective alternatives to traditional regulatory or litigation pathways, particularly in fast-moving sectors.
Yet legal education has been slow to adapt. While law schools continue to train students in litigation, regulation, and transactions, they have largely overlooked self-regulation as a distinct and essential area of practice.
Building a New Legal Curriculum
To address this gap, CISR, working in collaboration with ASU and supported by the John Templeton Foundation, developed and launched a pilot curriculum focused on industry self-regulation.The course introduces students to how soft law operates across a range of contexts, including:
- Private standards and certification systems
- Trade association governance
- Agency–industry collaboration
- Global soft law initiatives
- Governance challenges in emerging technologies
As ASU Professor Gary Marchant, who created and teaches the course, has noted, “self-regulation is no longer a niche area of law—it’s becoming a central component of how industries manage legal and ethical challenges.” At the same time, traditional regulation has long been emphasized in legal education, while self-regulation has been largely overlooked. This initiative aims to correct that imbalance by equipping students with tools that reflect how legal problems are increasingly addressed in practice.
Connecting Theory to Practice
A critical component of the course is exposure to practitioners who are actively shaping and operating self-regulatory systems. To that end, CISR team members gave three lectures to students in the seminar, bringing firsthand experience from the design and administration of leading self-regulatory programs.These sessions bring the mechanics of soft law into focus, translating theory into applied governance. Through them, students gain a clearer understanding of how self-regulation functions in practice: where it succeeds, where its limits lie, how it interacts with government regulation, and how lawyers play a central role in designing, implementing, and enforcing these frameworks across industries.
- CISR Executive Director Howard Smith shared insights from his experience with BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) and Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC), illustrating how independent third-party oversight can strengthen accountability while preserving flexibility in rapidly evolving markets.
- Lucy Tournas, PhD, JD, CISR’s Program Coordinator for this initiative, delivered a lecture on the international governance of neurotechnologies, examining how emerging brain-computer interfaces intersect with AI governance, data protection frameworks, and broader international soft law and security considerations.
- Bringing a regulatory perspective, Mary K. Engle, EVP, Policy at BBB National Programs, led a session exploring the dynamic relationship between government agencies and industry self-regulation. Drawing on her decades of experience at the FTC, she examined how agencies shape self-regulatory efforts, how those efforts influence the development of law, where antitrust limits apply, and how law enforcement serves as a critical backstop when companies ignore or misrepresent adherence to industry standards.
Scaling Adoption Across Law Schools
To expand access beyond ASU, CISR has developed a modular, “plug-and-play” curriculum that can be integrated into existing graduate-level courses, including administrative law, corporate governance, consumer protection, antitrust, and technology policy. This approach lowers the barrier for adoption, enabling institutions to incorporate self-regulation into their programs without building new courses from scratch.Request the Curriculum
Preparing the Next Generation of Lawyers
Industry self-regulatory programs are becoming central to how industries govern and manage risk. Law schools that fail to integrate soft law risk leaving graduates underprepared, while those that do equip students with a more practical, relevant toolkit.CISR’s work is focused on accelerating this shift, bridging theory and practice and preparing lawyers for a regulatory environment where soft law is essential.