10 Practical Strategies for Law Schools to Embrace AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming nearly every sector of society, and the legal field is no exception. While AI is rapidly reshaping legal practice, legal education risks falling behind.

Surveys of university graduates indicate that they feel unprepared for the workforce due to a lack of AI integration into their education. Legal regulators like the Law Society of Ontario, emphasize that lawyers must understand AI’s risks and benefits to meet professional responsibility standards. The gap between what is taught in the classroom and what is required in practice is widening by the day.

Fortunately, there are practical and innovative strategies that law schools can adopt to prepare their students for this new era of AI-driven legal practice—without waiting for multi-year curriculum reforms.

1. AI Literacy Workshops for Students and Faculty

Law schools must prioritize AI literacy by offering dynamic, hands-on workshops to equip students and faculty with essential AI competencies. These workshops should progress in complexity, starting with foundational AI concepts—like understanding what AI is, effective prompt engineering with generative AI, ethics and professional responsibility, and academic integrity. They can then move into intermediate skills, such as building custom GPTs and analyzing AI ethics through case studies. Advanced sessions can dive deeper into technical topics, including adjusting “temperature” and top-P values, token optimization strategies, and conducting AI impact assessments.

Real-world “use case” examples will bridge theory and application, fostering institutional confidence and empowering participants to integrate AI seamlessly into legal workflows. Law schools that embrace these initiatives position their community to lead in a profession increasingly defined by technological innovation.

An easy opportunity for students and faculty to learn more is by attending free webinars on AI and law, which occur almost every month, hosted by various legal organizations. There’s also our hybrid “AI and Law” symposium taking place April 2, 2025, that is open to students across the country to attend and participate in. You can even organize a “watch party” with a few snacks and put it on the big screen in a classroom for students and faculty to attend. Follow-up with a discussion of ideas your law school could pursue.

2. Grassroots Faculty-Student Initiatives: Building AI Communities Beyond the Classroom

Law schools should encourage students and faculty to launch grassroots initiatives focused on AI, creating collaborative, low-pressure spaces for learning and experimentation.

These initiatives foster innovation by allowing participants to explore AI beyond formal curricula. A successful example is the new UBC AI & Criminal Justice Initiative, which empowers students and faculty to integrate AI into teaching, research, public engagement, and advocacy.

Faculty members with little AI experience can sponsor or join these initiatives, learning alongside students in a supportive environment. These groups empower students with leadership opportunities, nurture creativity, and cultivate tech-savvy communities organically.

By promoting these initiatives, law schools can foster an innovative culture without the administrative overhead of curricular changes—allowing both students and faculty to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving legal tech landscape. An interested faculty member can put up some posters and see who shows up. If you build it, they will come.

3. Mainstreaming AI into the Existing Curriculum

Law schools don’t need to wait for formal curriculum reforms to embed AI education. Instructors can integrate AI concepts into their existing courses right now. Professors can highlight how AI is impacting diverse areas such as contracts, torts, evidence law, administrative law, and criminal law – a search on CanLII reveals several relevant cases and lots of commentary.

Expanding the search to other jurisdictions, particularly the U.S., yields some interesting materials for a class or two on AI in these courses. There’s also very thoughtful material on Indigenous perspectives on AI and other critical perspectives to include. Incorporating AI-focused case studies, guest lectures, and assignments using legal tech tools offers students practical exposure to how AI is reshaping the legal profession.

Faculty can also develop flexible, AI-focused seminars based on already approved general purpose courses that allow for flexibility in what is taught. For instance, I’m teaching a seminar next term for a course that was already on the books, generically titled “Topics in Criminal Justice”. I adapted it to exclusively focus on AI and Criminal Justice. It will use an open-access casebook designed together with interested students, making these resources freely available to other law schools.

4. Law Schools as Innovation Hubs

Law schools have the potential to become incubators for AI-driven innovation, providing a safe space where students and faculty can collaborate on cutting-edge technologies without the risks associated with real-world deployment. In this experimental environment, participants can push boundaries, prototype legal tech solutions, and explore novel applications of AI in law.

Adopting a “sandbox” approach cultivates creativity, empowering law schools to shape the future of legal technology rather than merely respond to it. By fostering experimentation and risk-taking in a controlled environment, these incubator-style initiatives can position law schools as thought leaders and innovators in the legal tech space—demonstrating their role not just as educators, but as drivers of technological change. For example, in our upcoming seminar, students will learn how to develop, test, fine-tune, and share their own custom GPT legal prototypes – exclusively for educational use in the classroom.

5. Partnering with Tech Companies to Test Emerging Legal AI Tools

Law schools can foster innovation by collaborating with tech companies to organize hackathons and pilot projects. Through these events, students can engage with beta versions of new apps and platforms, gaining practical experience while contributing feedback to refine these technologies.

These collaborations provide valuable hands-on problem-solving opportunities, helping students understand how AI integrates into legal workflows. Additionally, working alongside industry professionals expands students’ networks and enhances their employability. Such partnerships position law schools as forward-thinking institutions, preparing graduates to thrive in a tech-augmented legal landscape.

6. AI-Enhanced Moot Courts

Incorporating AI into preparing for moot court competitions offers students real-time feedback to sharpen their advocacy skills. UBC’s Judicial Interrogatory Simulator analyzes participants’ arguments and suggests targeted improvements, helping students refine their legal reasoning and prepare for answering judges’ questions. While this version already looks dated, a fully integrated video avatar version is already in reach if someone wants to develop it. Imagine an AI moot judge trained on decades of appellate transcripts.

This technology gives students hands-on experience and individualized support that is complemented by traditional teaching and learning approaches. By integrating AI into moot court preparation or creating new moots using AI judges, law schools can enhance the learning experience, fostering confident advocates equipped to leverage AI effectively in the courtroom.

7. Micro-Credentials in AI and Law

Law schools can develop micro-credentials in AI and the law (e.g., a 12-week part-time certificate). Intensive, targeted programs can equip students and practising lawyers with essential skills. These certifications demonstrate specialized expertise in areas such as AI-powered legal research and writing, ethics and professional responsibility, AI governance, data privacy, and conducting AI impact assessments.

Micro-credentials complement traditional law degrees by signaling to employers that graduates are prepared to navigate the intersection of law and technology. These programs not only make students more competitive in the job market but also position law schools as forward-thinking institutions that equip graduates with the skills needed to thrive in a tech-driven legal landscape.

8. Facilitating Active Learning with AI

To effectively engage students with AI, law schools must move beyond traditional lectures toward workshop-based and problem-solving models. These approaches encourage active participation, collaboration, and hands-on learning—fostering deeper understanding of AI concepts and tools. Instructors act as facilitators, guiding students through real-world challenges.

There are proven educational AI platforms that enhance the learning experience, offering students tailored feedback like a private tutor, providing for oversight and guidance from human instructors. This shift cultivates essential skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and teamwork, better preparing graduates to navigate the complexities of AI-powered legal practice.

9. Virtual Client Simulations

AI-powered virtual client simulations, such as intake interviews or client interviewing, could provide students with a realistic, immersive way to develop their skills. These simulations would mimic real-world complexities by dynamically adjusting client responses based on student input, offering a personalized and evolving experience.

This environment allows students to refine their practical skills and build confidence in handling diverse client scenarios. Additionally, these simulations introduce students to AI-enhanced service delivery models they will encounter in legal practice, bridging the gap between theory and application. Virtual clients prepare graduates to excel in client-centered roles, ready to leverage AI tools in modern legal workflows. As with all things AI, human oversight of student learning is crucial, and this is something that AI tools have been adapted to provide in educational settings.

10. Virtual Legal Clinics

An AI-facilitated virtual legal clinic with AI “clients” offers students invaluable hands-on experience with feedback through simulated legal cases. A supervising lawyer or faculty member would also be in the loop. This hybrid model combines AI-generated insights with faculty oversight, ensuring students develop practical skills in a supportive learning environment.

The AI mentor can review students’ work, provide actionable feedback, suggest improvements, and flag ethical concerns. By engaging with AI-powered supervision, students become familiar with how these technologies enhance legal workflows, positioning them to excel in a tech-integrated legal profession. Ensuring that human lawyers provide ultimate oversight is a core requirement of a virtual clinic.

Conclusion

This technological shift presents an incredible opportunity. By embracing AI, legal education can prepare students not just to survive, but to thrive. The challenge is not just about teaching students how to use tools but equipping them with the judgment and insight necessary to apply these technologies ethically and effectively. It’s about cultivating future lawyers who can leverage AI to enhance access to justice while maintaining a human-centered approach to legal practice.

AI is reshaping the legal profession, and law schools must act quickly to keep pace. Fortunately, adapting to these changes doesn’t require major curricular reform. By adopting practical strategies—such as workshops, AI-integrated courses, and virtual clinics—law schools can stay ahead, ensuring their students do not fall behind.

The future of legal education lies in fostering technological innovation while preserving the timeless role of an independent legal profession committed to serving the public. This is an exciting time of transformation.

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Benjamin Perrin is a law professor at the University of British Columbia, Peter A. Allard School of Law and leads the UBC AI & Criminal Justice Initiative.