Recent reports on the adoption of AI in legal education, based on a survey distributed by the American Bar Association (ABA), have been significantly overstated. According to a Reuters article, the survey suggested that more than half of law schools are now offering courses on AI, with a majority providing students with opportunities to learn AI tools through clinics and other curricular offerings. However, these figures require closer examination.
The survey, entitled AI and Legal Education Survey Results 2024, revealed that out of the 200 law school deans surveyed, only 29 responded. This means that the alleged 55% of law schools offering AI classes translates to just 16 institutions—a mere 8% of the 197 accredited law schools recognized by the ABA. Similarly, the 83% reporting AI-related curricular opportunities represents only 24 schools, or 12% of all law schools.
Despite the small sample size and the potential for response bias, the survey’s authors drew substantial conclusions regarding the impact of AI on legal education. For instance, the report implied that AI is significantly influencing legal education and predicting further transformative changes ahead.
Andrew Perlman, dean of Suffolk University Law School and one of the survey’s conductors, noted the limitations inherent in the low response rate. He acknowledged the potential skew in the data, suggesting that law schools already engaged in AI initiatives were more likely to respond. Nonetheless, Perlman emphasized that the survey does highlight a trend toward increasing AI integration in legal education, albeit not uniformly across all institutions.
Perlman’s analysis underscores a more tempered view. While it is evident that certain law schools are pioneering AI education, the notion that over half of U.S. law schools are involved remains unsubstantiated. The response bias and sample size significantly undermine the reliability of such sweeping claims.
For a deeper dive into this topic, refer to the full article available on LawNext.