California State Weighs Rule to Make AI Training Mandatory in Law Schools

Law schools accredited by the State of California could soon be required to train students in artificial intelligence technology and the responsible use of AI tools.

The State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners on Friday discussed adding “the competent use, capabilities, and limitations of technology and artificial intelligence” to the six credits of practice-based competency training that juris doctor students at state-accredited and unaccredited law schools must complete.

The proposed change, which the committee could formally pursue as early as next month, would apply to California’s 25 state-accredited and unaccredited law schools, but not to the 17 law schools in the state currently accredited by the American Bar Association. California allows graduates of all three types of law schools to sit for its bar examination.

In a presentation before the committee, state bar staff recommended including AI in the practical skills training requirement and also adding it to the list of topics that must be covered in the mandatory professional responsibility course.

California appears to be the first jurisdiction to consider an AI training requirement for law students. The arm of the American Bar Association that oversees law school accreditation does not currently have any pending proposals to add AI to its curricular requirements, a spokesperson said on Friday.

Even without such a mandate, a growing number of American Bar Association-accredited law schools have introduced required or elective courses and training on AI in recent years, citing student demand and the rapid adoption of the technology across the legal profession. Law students have also begun forming clubs dedicated to AI.

AI’s ability to speed up certain types of legal work is prompting attorneys to adopt the technology and has fuelled an explosion of legal AI start-ups. At the same time, a growing number of lawyers have been sanctioned by judges for errors in court documents caused by AI’s tendency to “hallucinate”, or fabricate material.

The vast majority — 89 per cent — of deans from California-accredited and unaccredited law schools agreed or strongly agreed that law students should receive training in AI, according to a state bar poll conducted in late February and early March. However, only 45 per cent said the state bar should require courses on the competent use of AI, and 56 per cent said their school’s current curriculum already prepares students adequately to use the technology.

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