A new study from the American Bar Association’s Task Force of Law and Artificial Intelligence found that most law students are being taught how to use artificial intelligence (AI) in the practice of law.
More than half of law schools (55%) that responded to the ABA’s survey said they offer classes dedicated to AI. Eighty-three percent said they provide other curricular opportunities—like clinics—for law students to learn to use AI effectively.
This means that future generations of lawyers will likely exit law school equipped with valuable skills that many of their more experienced counterparts may not have been exposed to in law school or maybe even legal practice.
How law schools are teaching AI
The ABA’s survey was completed by 29 law school deans or faculty members between late December 2023 and mid-February 2024.
Law schools said they provide opportunities for students to learn what AI is and how to use it through classes like “AI & Law” and “AI & Tax Law: Theory and Practice” and clinics or workshops covering topics like trial advocacy and litigation and transactional drafting.
Some schools (32%) said they offered students opportunities to engage with AI through collaborations and interdisciplinary arrangements with other university departments, like computer science or engineering.
Law school policies
While 93% of the law schools that responded to the survey said they are considering changes to their curriculum in response to the profession’s use of AI, a significant number remain unsure of how to govern its use by students and faculty.
Thirty-one percent of responding law schools prohibit the use of generative AI in law school applications, while 62% said they are undecided.
Though almost 70% of schools have updated academic integrity policies to account for generative AI, including usage and disclosure policies, the report notes that many schools are looking for guidance on developing instructions and policies regarding its use.
AI in Illinois law schools
Illinois law schools are integrating opportunities for students to learn about generative AI in legal practice into their traditional coursework and other curricular offerings.
Students at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law can take courses like “AI and Legal Reasoning” or “Applied AI in HealthTech,” and also have the opportunity to study AI through a concentration in Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship or The Law and Technology Initiative, which is a partnership between Northwestern Law, McCormick School of Engineering, and external partners.
Chicago-Kent College of Law offers a tech-based focus for its JD students too, through a certificate program in Legal Innovations and Technology, which includes AI coursework.
The University of Illinois College of Law offers students courses on AI and the law and also provides faculty guidance on how to teach AI to students.
Through lectures and events, Illinois law school students are exposed to opportunities to learn about AI from practicing lawyers and those developing AI technologies.
For example, DePaul University College of Law recently hosted a symposium on the legal and ethical implications of using AI in health care, AI was a featured topic at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law’s 67th Annual Intellectual Property, Information & Privacy Law Conference, and Northwestern and Loyola University Chicago School of Law are partnering to host a conference exploring The Practice of Law in an AI World in September.
Law schools are also creating opportunities for students to connect over an interest in AI through student organizations. Northern Illinois University School of Law is one of them. Its Artificial Intelligence and Law Society provides members with training on AI, exposure to guest speakers, and other educational opportunities around legal technology topics.
Finally, law schools and universities across the state are creating policies and guidance on when and how AI should be used by students and professors. For example, the University of Chicago Law School’s Policy on Generative AI “sets a default for use of generative AI” by students but allows instructors to govern the use of AI in their classrooms and on their exams.
Northwestern Law’s Generative AI Policy also prohibits students from using generative AI to “produce, derive, or assist in creating any materials or content that is submitted to the instructor,” unless the instructor provides guidance otherwise.
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