Aric K. Short is Professor of Law and Director of Professional Identity and Leadership Development at Texas A&M University School of Law. His work examines how lawyers form their professional identities and how generative AI is changing what it means to be a lawyer. His recent article, “Who’s the Lawyer Now? Professional Identity in a GenAI World,” appeared in the Journal of Legal Education. He is co-author of two books: Professional Identity Formation: Shaping an Authentic, Rewarding, and Successful Career in Law (West Academic, forthcoming 2027) and Property: A Contemporary Approach (7th ed., West Academic, forthcoming 2027).
Professor Short is the course director of Artificial Intelligence for Lawyering, a required first-year course that teaches students to use AI tools effectively and ethically. He serves on the university’s Artificial Intelligence Steering Committee and on the AI in Legal Services Advisory Board of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. He helped design and teaches the law school’s required first-year Professional Identity course, which received the ABA’s E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award.
He serves as Chair-Elect of the AALS Section on Leadership and speaks nationally on professional identity, leadership, and AI, including at LegalWeek, the Legal Tech Fund Summit, and various academic conferences. He has received numerous teaching awards and other honors from law students, Texas A&M University, the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, and the Bush School of Government and Public Service.
Professor Short has served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Vice Dean, and Interim Dean, leading the school through its transition to Texas A&M. Before entering academia, he practiced international and environmental law in Washington, D.C., and Austin. He earned his J.D. with honors from The University of Texas School of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif, and his A.B. magna cum laude from Georgetown University.
