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Nathan W. Kotas

Associate Professor, School of Business Administration
Assistant Chair · Program Director, Paralegal Program
Daytona State College, Daytona Beach, Florida

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Nathan W. Kotas is an Associate Professor in the School of Business Administration at Daytona State College, where he serves as Assistant Chair and directs the Paralegal Program. He practiced law in Atlanta for more than two decades before joining the faculty in 2020, first at firms including King & Spalding and Alston & Bird and then in his own practice. His teaching pairs primary legal sources with guided use of artificial intelligence, which he treats as a scaffold for legal reasoning. He created AI & the Law (PLA 2872), the first course of its kind in the Florida College System, and he builds free study tools and open-source software for legal education.

Academic Appointments

Daytona State College, Daytona Beach, Florida

Associate Professor, School of Business Administration

2025–present

Assistant Chair, School of Business Administration (Paralegal and Office Programs)

2021–present

Program Director, Paralegal Program

2021–present

Assistant Professor

2020–2025

Adjunct Professor

2020

Nathan W. Kotas, Esq., Atlanta, Georgia

Attorney, Private Practice

2009–2020

Alston & Bird LLP, Atlanta, Georgia

Attorney

2007–2009

Tin Roof Bar & Cantina, Atlanta, Georgia

General Counsel

2006–2007

Mabry & McClelland LLP, Atlanta, Georgia

Attorney

2000–2005

King & Spalding LLP, Atlanta, Georgia

Attorney

1999–2000

Education

University of Florida Levin College of Law, Gainesville, Florida

J.D., with Honors
Journal of Law & Public Policy

1999

University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

B.S.B.A., Economics, with High Honors
University Honors Program

1996

Bar Admissions

State Bar of Georgia (active)

Supreme Court of Georgia; Court of Appeals of Georgia; United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia; United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia

Lead Instructor

  • Business Law I BUL 2241
  • Business Law II BUL 2242
  • Introduction to Law PLA 1003
  • Legal Research PLA 1104
  • Legal Writing PLA 2114
  • Civil Litigation PLA 2201
  • Criminal Law PLA 2303
  • Bankruptcy Law PLA 2460
  • Estate Law PLA 2600
  • Property Law PLA 2610
  • Legal Technology PLA 2763
  • Family Law PLA 2800
  • Artificial Intelligence and the Law PLA 2872 · course creator
  • Constitutional Law PLA 2880
  • Selected Topics in Legal Studies PLA 2930

Program Leadership and Curriculum Development

Paralegal Program

  • Led the revision of the Paralegal Studies A.S. program, which added electives and created a direct path from the A.S. to the A.A. degree. Approved by the District Board of Trustees, April 2024.
  • Aligned program learning outcomes with Quality Matters, ABA, and Florida Department of Education standards, and revised every core master course description to meet QM standards.
  • Revised most core paralegal courses around activity-based assignments that require responsible and transparent use of artificial intelligence.
  • Converted hybrid courses to a HyFlex livestream format so working students can complete the program.
  • Replaced most commercial textbooks with primary sources and open materials, supported by legal-database access funded through annual Perkins grants.
  • Founded the Daytona State College chapter of Lambda Epsilon Chi (LEX), the national paralegal honor society, and held its first induction in April 2024.
  • Secured Westlaw and research access for students through a partnership with the Volusia County Law Library, and arranged guest speakers, tours, and internships with NASCAR, the Public Defender’s Office, and local firms.
  • Recruited and mentored adjunct faculty to keep course design consistent in Falcon Online.

College-wide

Curriculum Developer, Artificial Intelligence Awareness Certificate

Helped design and implement the interdisciplinary certificate, including development of AI & the Law (PLA 2872).

2024–present

Member, AI Learning Collaborative

College-wide collaboration focused on AI use, implementation, and continued development of courses within the Artificial Intelligence Awareness Certificate.

2026–present

FCLE Curriculum Developer

Selected to develop and manage instructional content and lead student preparation for the Florida Civic Literacy Exam, working with faculty and student-support units.

2026–present

Instructor and Course Developer, FCLE Review Sessions and Testing Opportunities

Academic Support Center and TRiO Student Support Services.

2025–2026

Designer and Instructor, Perkins Summer Career Exploration Camp

Four-day camp for high school students on courtroom skills and trial preparation, ending in a live mock trial.

2025

Contributor, DSC Manufacturing Enterprise Smart Tiny House Project

Wrote course activities, hosted a student discussion with the College’s General Counsel, and brought in Habitat for Humanity as a community partner.

2023–2024

Research Grants

Drs. Leonard and Lynn Lempel Faculty Research and Writing Program Grant, Daytona State College

Project: “AI in the Hands of Learners.”

2025

Independent Projects and Open-Source Software

Personal professional work. These projects are not publications or services of Daytona State College.

LexED2

Interactive course activities for legal studies, built around the principle “Learn the law. Question AI.” Covers Introduction to Law, business law, civil litigation, constitutional law, legal technology, and AI & the Law.

lexed2.com

StudyFCLE

A free practice bank for the Florida Civic Literacy Exam across all four competencies. Each question explains why every answer choice is right or wrong and cites a primary source.

studyfcle.org (opens in a new tab)

Oyez MCP

An open-source Model Context Protocol server (MIT license) that lets Claude and other AI clients search the Oyez archive of U.S. Supreme Court cases and read decisions with vote breakdowns. Oral-argument transcripts can be filtered to a single Justice or advocate.

github.com/attorneynate/oyez-mcp (opens in a new tab)

Presentations and Panels

Panelist, “Generative AI in the Classroom: A Panel Discussion about Assignment Design.” 18th Annual Academic Excellence Symposium, Department of Learning and Development, Daytona State College.

2026

Panelist, “The Low Road and the High Road: Using Both Low-Tech and High-Tech Methods to Develop a Balanced Student.” 18th Annual Academic Excellence Symposium, Department of Learning and Development, Daytona State College.

2026

Panelist, “To AI or Not to AI? That Is the Question.” Virtual Undergraduate Research Conference, Center for Interdisciplinary Writing and Research, Daytona State College.

2026

Presenter, “Changing Our HOW: Educating AI-Ready Paralegals.” Volusia County Paralegal Association Annual Seminar, Leveraging AI in Legal Practice, Daytona Beach, Florida.

2025

Presenter, “AI and the Law.” National Defender Investigator Association 2025 National Conference, Daytona Beach, Florida.

2025

Presenter, “How Paralegals Can Lead with Ethical AI Innovation.” North Carolina Paralegal Association Annual Seminar.

2025

Honors and Awards

Service Excellence Award, Office of the President, Daytona State College

2026

NISOD Excellence Award

2025

Faculty Innovation Award, Daytona State College

2024

College Service

Falcon Ideas Planning Council Sub-Committee

Co-Chair, 2026–present; Member, 2023–2026

2023–present

Administrative Unit Review Planning Council Sub-Committee

Co-Chair, 2023–present; Member, 2022–2023

2022–present

General Education Committee, Member

2022–present

Paralegal Program Advisory Committee, Member

2020–present

Co-organizer, Constitution Day (college-wide event)

2022–present

Faculty Advisor, Mock Trial Club

2026–present

Faculty Advisor, Pre-Law Society

2022–present

Faculty Advisor, Student Paralegal Association

2020–2022

Peer Review Committee, Member

2022–2025

eMentors Committee, Member

2022–2025

Faculty Marshal, Commencement

2021–2022

Certifications and Professional Development

Florida AI Learning Community (FALCON), Statewide Meeting Series

2026–present

AI2 Summit: Artificial Intelligence and Academic Innovation, University of Florida AI2 Center, Orlando

2025

Chairperson Leadership Training Development Program, Daytona State College

2025

11th Annual UF Law E-Discovery Conference

2024

Quality Matters Rubric Update Certification, Seventh Edition

2023

Certified Quality Matters Peer Reviewer, Higher Education

2022

Daytona State College Digital Professional Program

2022

AAfPE National Spring Conference

2022

Writing Across the Curriculum / Writing in the Disciplines (WAC/WID), Level I

2020

Continuing legal education to maintain an active Georgia license

Annually

Professional and Community Service

Volusia County Paralegal Association

Associate Member

2024–present

Port Orange Soccer Club, Inc.

Vice President

2022–present

Local elementary school, Volusia County

PTA Vice President, 2025–present; PTA President, 2024–2025; School Advisory Council, 2024–2025

2024–present

Catholic Church of the Epiphany, Port Orange, Florida

Parish Council, 2022–2026; Engaged Couples Ministry, 2018–present

2015–present

Updated September 2026

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