Rate My Professor Sara Rayment

Honorary Associate Professor Sara Rayment serves in the School of Law and Justice at the University of Newcastle, part of the College of Human and Social Futures. She earned her Master of Laws in International Arbitration from Queen Mary University of London and a combined Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Newcastle. Beginning her academic career at the university as a sessional academic in 2015, she advanced to Associate Lecturer from July 2016 to December 2017 and was appointed Conjoint Associate Professor in 2017, now holding the title of Honorary Associate Professor. Her research focuses on legal design, legal innovation, and international disputes, with specific interests in algorithmic law, natural language processing, and visual law. Keywords associated with her work include ACICA, ICSID, ODR, UNCITRAL Working Group III, artificial intelligence, design-thinking, digital transformation, international arbitration, and online dispute resolution. As the course coordinator for the University of Newcastle’s legal design course, she promotes the integration of design-thinking and creative problem-solving in legal education.

In addition to her academic role, Sara Rayment is the founder and principal of Inkling Legal Design since March 2018, providing consultancy to government agencies, regulators, law firms, and corporate counsel on emerging technologies and the transformation of legal practice. Her professional experience includes serving as Senior Associate at Sparke Helmore Lawyers from March 2016 to February 2018 and as a Solicitor at King & Wood Mallesons from February 2009 to March 2016. She was a finalist for Academic of the Year at the 2019 Australian Law Awards by Lawyers Weekly. Rayment assisted in drafting the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)’s Technical Note on Online Dispute Resolution, published in 2017. Currently, she acts as a delegate to UNCITRAL on data privacy and artificial intelligence in contracting from February 2025 to July 2026 and to the International Chamber of Commerce task force for artificial intelligence in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution from February 2025. A graduate of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Teaching and Learning Studio in 2019, she developed innovative teaching strategies for lawyers. Furthermore, she is a member of the advisory committee for CIFAL Newcastle’s Centre for Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction, one of 15 international training centers under the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.