Source: The National Law Review

Artificial intelligence is becoming a core concern in legal education as law schools explore how to prepare future lawyers for AI’s impact on research, client counseling, litigation strategy, access to justice, and legal practice. Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Mississippi Christian University School of Law have implemented first-year AI certification requirements. Suffolk University Law School and UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law have added compulsory AI coursework for first-year students. Other institutions incorporate AI through legal research and writing courses, experiential programs, AI-focused clinics, technology labs, or interdisciplinary centers.

The shift from AI as an elective to a foundational element reflects law schools’ responses to law firms’ scaling of AI tools and courts’ sanctions related to AI-generated content, with over 1,000 identified cases in the United States. Deans characterize AI not as a passing trend but as a structural change requiring integration into legal education to meet evolving professional standards and competencies.