LAW632

Letter Grading

GPA SEMINARS

Although the legal industry has been slow to adapt to the digital transformation that has reshaped the business of other industries, the pace of change in the legal profession has accelerated since the Great Recession. The pandemic that began in 2020 has put additional pressure on attorneys to find new ways to make the delivery of legal services more efficient, cost-effective, and accessible. The increased availability of technology designed specifically to be used in the delivery of legal services has begun to alter the business models and the regulations that lawyers have operated under for the last 150 years. The advent of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) has created even more pressure for the legal profession to change. Experts such as Richard Susskind, the author of "Tomorrow's Lawyers," predict that by 2030 the legal profession will look entirely different than it does today. After we have acquired an understanding of the traditional methods of delivering legal services and the economic and technological changes impacting the legal industry, we will explore GAI in depth, focusing on how it might increase the efficiency, productivity, and accessibility of the law. The course will consist of in-class discussions of the topics introduced in the assignments for that class and possible impacts on the future of the legal profession. The topics discussed in class will be the basis for a paper that is an in-depth analysis of the possible use of GAI in an identified practice area, either in private practice or in a corporate legal department. The paper should conclude with predictions of the impact this technology may have on the future of the field of legal practice identified by the student.