Tolulope J. Falokun
Tolulope J. Falokun
Assistant Professor of Law
Degrees
- LL.M., Harvard Law School
- B.L., Nigerian Law School
- LL.B., Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Nigeria
Biography
Professor Tolulope (Tolu) J. Falokun is a graduate of Harvard Law School and joined the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2024 as an Assistant Professor of Law. Her teaching and scholarship focus on technology, innovation, and transnational law. Her work has been published in law reviews and journals and cited and quoted in academic publications and leading scholarly works.
She has presented her research at conferences and workshops across the United States and internationally, including the AALS Financial Regulation Mid-Year Conference, the Governance of Emerging Technologies and Science (GETS) Conference, the National Business Law Scholars Conference, the Works-in-Progress Intellectual Property Colloquium, the Conflict of Laws Annual Workshop , the University of Windsor, Canada, Law & Entrepreneurship Conference, and the Mid-Atlantic Law & Society Association Conference.
At Detroit Mercy Law, she teaches Sales Law, Law of Business Organizations, and Private International Law in the Digital Era. She has also developed courses addressing private international law in the digital era, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and legal technology.
Before entering academia, she practiced corporate, commercial, and technology law at TEMPLARS, a leading African law firm. She has also held research positions at Harvard Law School and a law firm in Manhattan and worked in technology law at a nonprofit organization in South Carolina.
Professor Falokun earned her LL.M. from Harvard Law School, her LL.B. from Obafemi Awolowo University, and her Barrister-at-Law (B.L.) qualification from the Nigerian Law School, where she graduated with First Class Honors and received the Director-General's Prize for First-Class Graduates. She is admitted to practice law in New York and Nigeria.
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Courses Taught
Sales Law
Law of Business Organizations
Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Legal Technology, and the Future of World Legal Systems.
Private International Law in the Digital Era
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Selected Publications
Smart Borders, Hard Questions: AI Decision-Making in Immigration Adjudication and the Case for De Novo Human Re-Evaluation, 19 Elon Law Review (forthcoming 2027)
Blockchain Technology, BRICS Pay Consortium, and the Private International Law Challenges of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), 29 Gonzaga Journal of International Law 114–156 (2026).
Intelligent Non-Fungible Tokens (iNFTs) and National Security: Navigating the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence and Private International Law, 13 Belmont Law Review 452–492 (2026)
Jurisdiction and Choice of Law in Disputes Relating to Cross-Border NFT Transactions: The Case for Uniform Private International Law Rules, 27 Virginia Journal of Law & Technology 49–99 (2023)
AI Meets Blockchain Technology: Industry Self-Regulation as a Solution to Jurisdiction and Choice of Law Issues in iNFT Transactions, (manuscript in progress)
The Convergence of AI and Blockchain Technology in Creative Entrepreneurship: INFTs and the Need for a Shift in Intellectual Property Law, (manuscript in progress)
The Digital Society and the Global Intellectual Property Law Ramifications of the Convergence of Artificial Intelligence and NFTs: An Empirical Socio-Legal Analysis, (manuscript in progress)
Beyond Article VIII: A Functional Connection Approach to Jurisdiction Over Space-Based Cyber Incidents (manuscript in progress)
Coauthored Publications
“Nigeria,” in Competition in Africa Report 2022 (Baker McKenzie ed., 2022)
Cross-Jurisdiction Privacy Project Nigeria Data Guidance, in Privacy Laws & Digital Advertising: Multi-Jurisdictional Overview and Implications 385–429 (Interactive Advertising Bureau ed., 2021)
Liability for Damage Caused by Artificial Intelligence, Templars Research Publication (2021)
Contributed Works
Contributed to the chapters on Nigeria in:
Africa Data Security and Privacy Guide (Baker McKenzie ed., 2021)
Global Merger Analysis Platform (Baker McKenzie ed., 2020)
An Overview of Competition and Antitrust Regulation in Africa (Baker McKenzie ed., 2020)
International Comparative Legal Guide to Data Protection (Global Legal Group ed., 2020)
International Comparative Legal Guide to Patents (Global Legal Group ed., 2020)
Littler Mendelson Guide to International Employment & Labor Law (Littler Mendelson P.C. ed., 2020)
Editorial Work
Casebook on the Nigerian law of evidence covering cases from 2011 to 2017
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Selected Presentations
AI Meets Blockchain: Who Governs Intelligent NFT Transactions?, Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR) Research Spotlight. (Virtual presentation). (2026)
AALS Financial Regulation Mid-Year Conference, University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, MI. (2026)
Speaker, Center for Industry Self-Regulation (CISR) Research Spotlight, “AI Meets Blockchain: Who Governs Intelligent NFT Transactions?”
Speaker, Panel on Blockchain and Financial Technology at 2026 Governance of Emerging Technologies and Science Conference, hosted by Beus Center for Law and Society, Arizona State University (ASU) Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.
Speaker, Panel on Digital Asset Regulation at National Business Law Scholars Conference 2026, hosted by University of Nevada, Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law.
Reviewer/Commentator/Panelist, New Scholarship in European Law Panel, at Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Annual Meeting 2026, New Orleans. Paper Reviewed: Tosato & Odinet, Regulating Centralized Stablecoins: Comparing the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MICAR) and the US Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act), Notre Dame Law Review Reflection (forthcoming 2026).
Presenter, Workshop on Cybersecurity on Earth and in Space, organized by the Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology and hosted at Seton Hall University School of Law, 2026.
Moderator, Human Judgment, Machine Insight: AI’s Role in Legal Decision Making, at Detroit Mercy Law Review Symposium 2026: From Policy to Practice: Navigating AI in the Legal Profession.
Speaker/Panelist, Blockchain and Beyond at 2025 Governance of Emerging Technologies and Science Conference, hosted by Beus Center for Law and Society, Arizona State University (ASU) Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.
Speaker, Gonzaga Journal of International Law Symposium 2025: BRICS+ and the Changing Technological and Financial World Order.
Speaker/Panelist, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law Cybersecurity Panel 2025. Spoke on the intersection of AI, cybersecurity, and law, and perspectives for future lawyers.
Presenter, 2026 Three Rivers Intellectual Property and Technology Law Colloquium, hosted by Duquesne University Kline School of Law.
Presenter, 2026 Works-in-Progress Intellectual Property (WIPIP) Colloquium, hosted by Boston University School of Law.
Speaker/Panelist, The New Aesthetic Economy: Law, Tokens & the Global Art Marketplace, at Law & Entrepreneurship Conference 2025: Building Bridges, Borders, and Global Connections, hosted by the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor, Canada.
Speaker, Belmont Law Review Symposium 2025: Data, Power and Security: Contemporary Issues in National Security and the Law.
Presenter, Conflict of Laws Annual Workshop, hosted by University of Oklahoma College of Law, 2025.
Discussant/Presenter, Consumer Law, Commercial Law, and Bankruptcy Workshop/Roundtable, at Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) Conference, Florida, 2025.
Panel Discussant/Presenter, State Accountability, Governance and Rights Framework, at Mid-Atlantic Law & Society Association (MALSA) Conference 2025, hosted by Ramapo College of New Jersey.
Judge, Canadian & American Transnational Law Moot, University of Windsor Law School and University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, 2025.
Presenter, Central States Law Schools Association (CSLSA) 2025 Scholarship Conference, hosted by University of Kansas School of Law.