Law school programs are incorporating legal tech into curricula, according to Juris Education
Pre-law students are worried that artificial intelligence will take over legal jobs, according to a survey conducted by New York-based law school admissions consulting firm Juris Education.
Twenty percent of respondents cited the AI takeover as their greatest career fear, making it the second most significant concern for pre-law students after the challenge of maintaining work-life balance. Per the ABA Journal, organizations and law firms have increasingly adopted AI tools that tackle tasks like research, contract review, and document drafting, which were previously assigned to law graduates.
Last year, the American Bar Association released its first ethics guidance on the use of generative AI in legal practice.
“We’re no longer talking about AI just writing contracts or breaking down legalese. It is reshaping the fundamental structure of legal work. Our future lawyers are smart enough to see that coming. We want to provide them this data so they can start thinking about how to adapt their skills for a profession that will look very different by the time they enter it,” said Arush Chandna, Juris Education founder, in a statement.
Juris Education noted that law schools are already integrating legal tech, ethics, and prompt engineering into curricula. The American Bar Association’s 2024 AI and Legal Education Survey revealed that 55 percent of US law schools were teaching AI-specific classes and 83 percent enabled students to learn effective AI tool use through clinics.
Juris Education’s director of advising Victoria Inoyo pointed out that AI could not replicate human communication skills.
“While AI is reshaping the legal industry, the rise of AI is less about replacement and more about evolution. It won’t replace the empathy, judgment, and personal connection that law students and lawyers bring to complex issues,” she said. “Future law students should focus on building strong communication and interpersonal skills that set them apart in a tech-enhanced legal landscape. These are qualities AI cannot replace.”
Juris Education’s survey obtained responses from 220 pre-law students. The challenge of maintaining work-life balance was cited by 21.8 percent of respondents as their primary career concern; increasing student debt juxtaposed against low job security was the third most prevalent concern with 17.3 percent of respondents citing it as their biggest career fear.
