Postdoc in Empirical IP/Privacy/Antitrust/AI Governance

100%, Zurich, fixed-term

The Center for Law & Economics is home to about 60 researchers and research assistants from the law, economics, political science, computer science, and data science. The Center participates in the international discourse on applying quantitative social science methods to the law. At the Center, the Intellectual Property Group (Prof. Stefan Bechtold) invites applicationsfor a postdoc.

Project background

We conduct empirical and experimental projects in intellectual property, antitrust, privacy, Internet law, legal tech, automated decision-making, IT security, AI Governance, and related areas.

Job description

The goal of this postdoc is to enable fellows to engage in empirical research in preparation for the academic legal job market. You will conduct quantitative empirical or experimental research on intellectual property law, privacy law, antitrust law, Internet law, AI governance, or questions of automated decision-making, IT security, legal tech, or related areas. You will be able to pursue your own research agenda in a very research-focused environment at a leading research university, with limited teaching or organizational obligations. We provide close supervision, guidance, time and resources for you to develop as a new scholar in the field.

Profile

• You are looking forward to applying quantitative empirical or experimental methods to intellectual property, antitrust, privacy, Internet law, legal tech, AI governance, or related areas. You already have some experience with these methods.
• You feel that your enthusiasm and your law degree (J.D., master, state exam etc.) provide you with a sound basis to start an academic career. We welcome applications from candidates with an additional degree in social science, computer science or data science.
• You are excited to join an international and interdisciplinary group that spans many topics and fields.

Workplace

Workplace

We offer

At the Center for Law & Economics, we maintain close contact with leading scholars in our fields across the globe, including at top U.S. law schools. Throughout the year, we organize various seminar series and conferences. These events create rich opportunities for you to meet and exchange ideas with discourse-shaping researchers from all areas of law & economics. Our broad network opens attractive career prospects. We offer an internationally competitive salary (based on ETH standards) and comprehensive benefits. In addition, we provide support for attending international conferences and workshops as well as research stays abroad. The Center for Law & Economics has an excellent placement track record. Our offices are in the city center of Zurich, and the working language is English. We envision a starting date in the summer or fall of 2025, but are flexible.

We value diversity

In line with our values, ETH Zurich encourages an inclusive culture. We promote equality of opportunity, value diversity and nurture a working and learning environment in which the rights and dignity of all our staff and students are respected. Visit our Equal Opportunities and Diversity website to find out how we ensure a fair and open environment that allows everyone to grow and flourish.

Curious? So are we.

We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents:

• a cover letter (2 pages max; please describe your familiarity with quantitative or experimental methods in the letter)
• your CV
• your university transcript with grades
• a short description of your research interests (2 pages max)
• list of 2-3 references

Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.

We will review applications on a rolling basis. Please submit your application at your earliest convenience, but not later than January 15, 2025.

Do you have questions? Please reach out to Prof. Stefan Bechtold via email (sbechtold@ethz.ch).