Ajwang Rading is a Lecturer in Law at Santa Clara University School of Law. An entrepreneur-investor, lawyer, and policy advisor, his interdisciplinary research and teaching focus on startup law, emerging technologies (including artificial intelligence), public policy, ethics and safety, and the societal and economic implications of innovation.
In addition to his Santa Clara Law appointment, Rading serves as Lecturer in Public Policy at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, where he teaches courses on artificial intelligence governance, AI policy frameworks, and the legal and ethical dimensions of emerging technologies. He also serves as Lead AI Attorney at Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP, where he combines trust-and-safety governance, complex transactional advice, and strategic risk assessment for AI developers and the venture, growth-equity, and crossover funds that support them. He designs multi-jurisdictional algorithmic-accountability and compliance programs; structures venture financings, mergers and acquisitions, and digital-asset transactions; and advises clients on emerging liability frameworks, cross-border data-rights issues, and geopolitical risk. He is also the Managing Partner of AMR Ventures, a fund focused on catalyzing American economic prosperity through strategic investments in small and medium businesses, and Partner of Lekadora Group, a real estate holding company.
Previously, as an attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Rading advised large technology companies, startups, and venture capital firms as "outside General Counsel" on emerging technologies, corporate governance, venture financings, mergers & acquisitions, and public markets, as well as national security, regulatory compliance, and strategic crisis management. His public service includes a U.S. Congressional campaign (CA-16, 2022) and work as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Cory Booker and then-U.S.-Congressman (now-U.S.-Senator) Adam Schiff. At the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, Rading researched and documented over 4,000 lynchings throughout the American South and helped establish the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.
Today, Rading serves on the boards of LifeMoves and Human Rights Watch (Silicon Valley committee), and is a Humanity in Action Senior Fellow and Perplexity AI Fellow. He writes -1 to 1, a newsletter on building businesses from scratch, followed by over 35,000 people across Silicon Valley and California. He is regularly invited to speak at events such as SXSW and SF Tech Week, and has guest-lectured at institutions such as Stanford Graduate School of Business, UC Berkeley School of Law, and the University of Lucerne in Switzerland.
Rading holds a J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where he served as Articles Editor of the UCLA Law Review, and a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA.
Personal website: www.ajwangrading.com
LinkedIn: Connect with Ajwang