Extract from Benjamin Joyner’s article “The Colleges of Law Dean Discusses How to Bring AI Into Legal Education”
While the practice of law is being fundamentally transformed by an influx of artificial intelligence-powered tools, legal education has at times struggled to keep up. J.D. curricula can neglect the topics that define day-to-day legal work, and students fear the growing use of AI will mean fewer available jobs post-graduation.
Legaltech News spoke with Jeanne Eicks, associate dean of graduate programs at The Colleges of Law, about why legal education has been slow to incorporate AI, how laws schools can foster lasting skill sets and what schools owe their students.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Why does legal education lag in AI adoption?
In large part, I think because we’re very concerned that students are going to do their work using AI and not engage their brains. I hate to put it as crassly as that, but that’s that’s the challenge.
