Ep 274: Insights on Leadership and Innovation in Legal Education, with Anastasia Boyko

Jan 13, 2025

Anastasia Boyko, Chief Innovation Officer at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, shares her diverse career journey from tax lawyer to yoga teacher. She delves into the importance of leadership training in legal education and discusses innovative approaches to prepare students for real-world challenges. Boyko also tackles the integration of technology in law schools and the significance of non-lawyer solutions in enhancing access to justice, all while highlighting her experiences as a refugee from Soviet Ukraine.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

A Journey from Ukraine: Reflecting on Refugee Experiences and Cultural Shifts

03:09 • 2min

Navigating Legal Paths: A Journey of Innovation and Leadership

05:16 • 23min

Challenges and Complexities in Legal Education Innovation

28:03 • 3min

Navigating Innovation in Legal Education

31:05 • 17min

Enhancing Access to Justice Through Non-Lawyer Solutions

47:48 • 3min

Innovating Legal Education and Practice

51:02 • 4min

Anastasia Boyko likes to say that she’s Goldilocks-ed her way through her career. True, it’s been a varied career, as she’s tried out different roles, but it is a career that has taken her full circle, from Yale Law School, where she graduated, and then eventually back to Yale Law to create a program in leadership for lawyers, and from Salt Lake City, where she grew up after she and her mother fled Soviet-era Ukraine, and then back to that city as chief innovation officer at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law.

Along the way, Boyko has learned a thing or two about the roles of leadership and innovation in legal education, and she has strong opinions about why law schools should do better at preparing students to be both leaders and innovators. In today’s LawNext, Boyko joins host Bob Ambrogi to share the journey of her Goldilocks-ed career and her insights on leadership and innovation, as well as ac-cess to justice.

After graduating from Yale Law School, Boyko began her career in private practice as a tax lawyer. She went on to hold diverse professional positions, including law librarian, Supreme Court intern, banker, yoga teacher, wellness entrepreneur, and career coach. She returned to Yale Law as the inaugural dean of the school’s Tsai Leadership Program, where she developed an innovative leadership program for lawyers, and returned to the University of Utah’s law school, first as director of non-J.D. programs and then as chief innovation officer.

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