Author: mpickens@illinois.edu

When used thoughtfully, AI can be a powerful asset. One of the most practical uses of AI is for handling routine or administrative tasks. Whether you need to draft a quick email or create a weekly study schedule, AI can help.

However, it’s important to use platforms specifically designed for legal content. Not all AI tools are created equal; some lack the sophistication or access to reliable legal databases that are essential for accurate research. Security and confidentiality is also a significant consideration.

Here are a few potential appropriate ways to use AI in law school:

• Brainstorming topics for a paper
• Summarizing lengthy documents
• Creating practice questions or quizzes
• Drafting outlines or email communications
• Organizing study schedules & resources
• Prepare for Interviews & professional opportunities
• Execute personal or extracurricular tasks

Each of these uses does not necessarily compromise academic integrity and still encourages students to use their wits and creativity to complete their major law school coursework. Rather than using AI tools to complete work, it can be used to make simple, time-consuming tasks more effective, to optimize time spent more heavily on studying, creating outlines, reading for class, researching, or writing essays.

Understanding AI and its uses while in law school is important for success in the future as AI becomes more integrated into legal practice. The American Bar Association’s rules of ethics allow AI use but with limitations, reinforcing the benefit of law students beginning appropriate and ethical practices as early as possible.

Despite the benefits outlined above, AI carries significant risks when misused. Over-reliance on AI can result in poor academic performance, particularly when students use it to replace, rather than supplement, their critical thinking. AI tools can misstate legal principles, ignore precedent, or present information without context, leading to flawed understandings of core concepts. More seriously, submitting AI-generated content as your work may violate a law school’s academic honesty policies, potentially resulting in plagiarism accusations or disciplinary action. Remember: AI should serve as a learning assistant, not as a shortcut to avoid doing the work yourself, both in undergrad and law school. AI tools by law students should be used to enhance their understanding, not replace their engagement or reading the material at all.

AI policies and learning opportunities vary from one law school to another or even from one professor to another, especially as law schools assess how to best incorporate AI usage and topics for legal study and future professional readiness. Many law students already use AI tools to review case law, test their knowledge, and simplify complex topics. Some use it to simulate Socratic questioning or quiz themselves before exams. When used appropriately, AI can make studying more efficient and reinforce classroom learning. However, the key to using AI responsibly lies in understanding its limitations, verifying its output, and aligning with your institution’s policies. With a mindful approach, you can leverage AI to support your legal education without compromising your integrity or learning experience.

Additionally, law schools are incorporating AI courses into their curricula in different ways, even with student-led clubs about it. As the practical day to day use of AI by legal professionals increases so to do the legal issues and topics surrounding AI in our society. Future lawyers must not only know how to utilize AI in practice but also be armed with knowledge substantive legal topics and issues related to AI.

Like most new frontiers there is enormous opportunity and challenges to consider. A recent article from the University of Chicago School of Law highlights the questions law schools are navigating when incorporating AI, as well as some of the curricular innovations taking place to embrace AI for student readiness. Below are a few additional examples of how law schools are incorporating AI.

In addition to incorporating AI into first-year writing as a skill, Case Western Reserve School of Law has become the first law school in the United States to require an AI certification for all of its first-year law students. You can learn more about this program by clicking here.

Washington University School of Law has created a Pre-Law Summer Program called “AI & the Future of Law”. This 5-week program combines live instruction with real-world insights on how AI is reshaping legal practice—from litigation and contracts to research, compliance, and ethics. To learn more, click here.

The University of Illinois College of Law offers a course for students wanting to learn more about “the many promises and perils of AI.” They hear perspectives from AI scholars and lawyers about AI’s impact in a variety of legal contexts. To learn more, click here.

AI has many orthodox and beneficial uses in the undergraduate space. AI can help draft email templates for new students, helping them to learn suggested ways to address their professors and supervisors before entering the workforce. AI can also digest notes and respond to stimuli from the student, performing tasks such as creating flashcards, making personalized quizzes, or forming unique prompts that can reduce the need for expensive study software or personal tutors. Additionally, AI can leverage your abilities for your future work life, as familiarizing yourself with it during undergrad can better prepare you for when you need to utilize it in the workforce (depending on your future career).

AI can also be a tremendous tool for everyday life – helping build schedules, manage tasks, assist with personal planning and goals, aid in financial planning and management, and more! You can learn more about Generative AI Resources on campus through the Technology Services Generative AI Resources page!

On the other hand, there are also disadvantages of AI. The rise of AI has blurred the line between academic aid and misconduct, especially for students unfamiliar with its limits. Students may attempt to pass off AI-generated work as their own or develop an overreliance on AI, rather than building the skills necessary for scholarly growth. This is particularly concerning for those on the pre-law track, where the pressure to excel in RSOs, LSAT prep, and GPA management can make utilizing AI seem like a tempting shortcut. Nevertheless, an overreliance on this tool can not only impact your academics but also hinder the development of creative thinking and weaken writing skills– skills that are necessary in this field. Students who outsource thesis writing or brainstorming to AI miss opportunities to grow essential skills like critical thinking and research. Students must build on these foundational skills to succeed beyond college, not bypass them.

How are undergraduate institutions reacting to the new world of artificial intelligence? Across higher education professors are attempting to adapt to these changes in real time, including here at the University of Illinois. For example, a professor in the Political Science department offers the ability to incorporate AI through several shorter writing assignments, with the caveat that students must investigate and critique the response given by the artificial intelligence engine. Whether teaching on AI topics, offering skill-building workshops or programs, or incorporating AI use in academic work – professors and administrators are working hard to stay on the forefront of this quickly expanding frontier.

The incorporation of AI in courses can vary significantly. However, instead of rejecting the modernity of this era, it is evident that professors have embraced it by offering opportunities to use AI in an academically enriching fashion with AI being increasingly incorporated into academic work, as well as new courses, resources, and trainings on AI available to students each semester.

Many courses at the University now include opportunities to incorporate AI into academic work, incorporate topics related to the growing AI field, or explore best practices for utilizing AI in professional or academic work. Students at the University of Illinois interested in learning more about AI might explore taking courses such as CS 440: Artificial Intelligence, HK 419: Artificial Intelligence in Public Health, PHIL 440: Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, or PHIL 442: The AI Revolution.

Additionally, the University of Illinois is leading research in the field of AI through initiatives and offices such as the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and Center for Artificial Intelligence Innovation (CAII), which build on existing initiatives across campus to establish a central nexus for spearheading AI research and application. CAII regularly offers unique events and learning opportunities for the campus.

Finally, in addition to courses, some departments are developing unique resources and learning opportunities for students. The Department of Philosophy is now offering an Ethics of AI Certificate. The credit-bearing certificate in the Ethics of AI is available to any currently enrolled degree-seeking undergraduate student. 

Be sure to check the course explorer each semester for new courses and opportunities to learn about AI!

TIP! Be sure to check your course Canvas page or syllabus at the beginning of each semester to confirm AI policies for each of your courses. If you aren’t sure – ask your professor on the first day to avoid any confusion or academic risk!

with contributing guest authors Carter Cohen ’25 and Elizabeth Segel ’28

Whether as undergrad students we are embracing the increased presence of AI, we will inevitably have to deal with it sometime throughout our college experience. As a part of the undergraduate class, we have seen how it has affected our classmates: making them more verbose in their essay-writing, aiding their computation of multivariable calculus, or even helping them land their dream internship. Students should also be wary of too much reliance on AI in their coursework because it can lead to over reliance on shortcuts or decrease motivation, and worst-case scenario academic risk.

Regardless of its negative variables, many undergraduate students have successfully been able to leverage AI to their advantage and guide them across their pre-law journey. However, students must remain mindful of their usage of AI to not cross the line into academic misconduct, as it could result in disciplinary actions. You can consult the academic integrity procedures here.

The University of Illinois Systems Digital Risk Management resources include a helpful Generative AI Guidance for Students highlighting important questions for students to consider, and necessary steps to take, to limit risk and maximize the benefits of AI use.