Artificial Intelligence in the Law Classroom: Good? Bad? Or Maybe Both?

By: Nadia Farashahi

Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence has taken its place in our society. Law schools are no exception.[1] With the rise in artificial intelligence, law schools are faced with the challenge of adapting to this new technology.

Bloomberg Law’s Spring 2024 Path to Practice survey encompassed data from more than 150 U.S. Law schools.[2] This survey reflected that the status quo is changing: “technological advancements have pushed law schools to address longstanding gaps in tech skill development, specifically by embracing and offering more AI-focused courses.”[3] Faculty respondents were asked whether their law schools “asked or encouraged them” to update their courses to reflect these new technological advancements in the legal field, and more than a third of the respondents said “yes.”[4] The survey also inquired about AI specific courses that are available to law students. Around 40% of respondents indicated that the courses give students “practical experiences using AI for legal work.”[5]

The American Bar Association Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence conducted a similar survey.[6] The survey, completed by 29 law school deans or faculty members in 2023 to 2024, showed that AI is steadily establishing a firm presence in the law school classroom. Around 55% of the law school respondents reported that they have classes centered around teaching students about AI, and around 83% reported having curricular opportunities that allowed students to learn to use AI effectively.[7]

Although there is no doubt that AI has made its way into the law classroom, there is not yet uniformity on how schools view the productivity of AI.[8] The University of California, Berkeley School of Law was the first law school to adopt a formal policy on the use of AI in the classroom; the policy allows AI use in certain circumstances, but bars it for exams and written assignments. Conversely, the University of Michigan Law School administered a policy that banned AI in admissions applications altogether.[9] So how beneficial is this integration of AI into law schools? The answer sits more in a gray area.

Law schools prepare their students for the legal field, and that means adjusting to the demands within it. Within the world of legal practice, certain federal judges are warning against a heavy reliance on AI.[10] These judges are instructing lawyers to scrutinize anything that is produced by AI tools, including ChatGPT, and are requiring further disclosures to the court when lawyers use AI.[11] When ill-advised attorneys had ChatGBT draft a brief that was submitted to a New York federal court filled fabricated case citations, the need for caution regarding AI became glaringly evident.[12] Furthermore, there have been questions raised regarding the potential for cheating within law schools given the rise in AI.[13] But law schools have begun to create policies to clarify the use of AI, either laying out restrictions on the use of AI for certain assignments or allowing students to perform certain research with it.[14] One associate dean for academic affairs at George Washington University Law School noted that despite the presence of AI in the law classroom, “it is still the student’s responsibility to captain their own ship and research concepts based on what ChatGPT says . . . .”.[15]

Despite its potential drawbacks, AI can and is making an impact on the legal field – it is already being used for e-discovery, contract and brief drafting, review, legal research, and more[16]–thereby increasing its importance within law school classrooms. When law schools teach their students the most efficient methods for using AI tools, they are therefore aiding their students for future endeavors and assignments in legal practice. For instance, large firms are already incorporating generative AI models into their practices.[17] Thus, a growing number of law schools are “adding courses and degree programs in artificial intelligence as a way to meet employer demand and capitalize on the flourishing AI industry.”[18] One chief talent officer at law firm Lewis Roca even noted that “concentrations or degrees in AI . . . would pique her interest on a resume.”[19] AI can make the “creation of legal products and services easier” and therefore less expensive for those who previously could not afford to bring a case.[20]

Therefore, courses in law school addressing AI and how best to use it might not be so bad after all. If this is to be the new reality, don’t we want our future lawyers to have a strong grasp on this type of technology? There will always be downsides to these technological advancements, but the benefit might outweigh the costs for this specific balancing scale.

 

 

 

[1] Vince Beiser, AI & the Law… & what it means for legal education & lawyers, geo. l. (Jan. 2, 2024), https://www.law.georgetown.edu/news/ai-the-law-what-it-means-for-legal-education-lawyers/.

[2] Stephani Pacheco, ANALYSIS: Tech Advances Inspire Curriculum Changes in Law School, bl (July 25, 2024, 5:01 AM), https://www.bloomberglaw.com/bloomberglawnews/bloomberg-law-analysis/X496FDNS000000?bna_news_filter=bloomberg-law-analysis#jcite.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] ABA Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence releases survey on AI and legal education, aba (June 24, 2024), https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2024/06/aba-task-force-law-and-ai-survey/.

[7] Id.

[8] See Students can use AI on applications, Arizona State law school says, Reuters, (July 28, 2023, 4:14 PM), https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/students-can-use-ai-applications-arizona-state-law-school-says-2023-07-28/.

[9] Id.

[10] Olivia Cohen, ChatGPT on Campus: Law Schools Wrestle with Emerging AI Tools, bl (Aug. 11, 2023, 5:01 AM), https://www.bloomberglaw.com/bloomberglawnews/bloomberg-law-analysis/BNA%2000000189bbd3d881af89ffdbda030000?bna_news_filter=bloomberg-law-analysis.

[11] Id.

[12] Beiser, supra note 1.

[13] Cohen, supra note 10.

[14] Cohen, supra note 10; see also Beiser, supra note 1 (noting that certain law institutions have banned AI in exams and assignments to prevent students from outsourcing their application essays or research papers to algorithms).

[15] Cohen, supra note 10.

[16] Cohen, supra note 10

[17]  Beiser, supra note 1.

[18] Karen Sloan, Law schools boost their AI offerings as industry booms, reuters (June 18, 2024, 3:44 PM),     https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/law-schools-boost-their-ai-offerings-industry-booms-2024-06-18/

[19] Id.

[20] Beiser, supra note 1.