If you are a journalist, or someone asking me to participate in an event, please email my work address [first initial][nodot][lastname]@emory.edu. Likewise, if you are looking for an expert witness, or consulting services, but please note that I do not currently practice law, although I do sometimes consult about legal strategy. My CV is available on request, I don’t post it online. If you want to see what I have written lately, go to my SSRN page.
Matthew James Sag – Biography
(Last revised, September 2025)
Matthew Sag is the Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Science at Emory University Law School. Professor Sag is a world-leading expert on the intersection of copyright law and text data mining, machine learning, and generative AI. He is also a sought after speaker on the broader implications of generative AI and its use as a legal technology. In July 2023, he testified to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property in relation to copyright and Generative AI and his research is published in leading journals such as Nature and Science, California Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal, Northwestern Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, and the Vanderbilt Law Review.
Professor Sag was born and educated in Australia. He earned honors in Law at the Australian National University and clerked for Justice Paul Finn at the Australian Federal Court. Professor Sag practiced law in London as an associate at Arnold & Porter, and in Silicon Valley with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. He joined the Emory faculty in 2022 and is proud to call Atlanta home.
Personal details and trivia
Ság is a Hungarian name that one of my ancestors thought would sound inconspicuous and not too Jewish. I don’t speak Hungarian and I say my name just like appears (rhymes with flag) because that is easier and otherwise the a in Matt and a in Sag sound oddly different.
I have written about being dyslexic. I never used to talk about this, but when I got tenure I decided it was ok. Now I am happy to talk about endlessly. If you, or someone you know is dyslexic, you might find this post encouraging.
My Erdős number is 5. The chain proceeds as follows: Peter Fishburn(1), John Ferejohn(2), Barry Weingast(3), Tonja Jacobi(4), Matthew Sag(5). I do not have an Erdős–Bacon number.
I read a lot of science fiction and I run marathons. I have run 15 marathons since I took up the sport in 2013, including four of the World Majors. My fastest marathon time is 3:27:17 (Fox Valley Marathon 2015) and I think my slowest is the 2025 London Marathon (4:28?)
My fastest half-marathon is 1:34:12 (New Orleans 2015)
My best race result is the 2014 SeaShore Half Marathon in Huntington Beach, CA , 1st place in the men’s division with a time of 1:38:53. 