Jacob Livingston Slosser

Abstract

Al research integration in legal education: self-reflections of student Researchers

This project was designed to evaluate how students can use empirical methods to address legal issues that are traditionally approached as largely conceptual, theoretical, or philosophical. Research on the use of AI in legal settings usually focuses on highly hypothetical scenarios which lead to many abstract valuations of principles and solutions. Similarly, legal education is often highly formulaic with little connection to empirical realities. The project allowed students to test their ideas about the law and go beyond the first level of abstraction to the development of concrete knowledge. The project asked students to reflect on the experience of acting as researchers in a legal setting and how it might be used in their degree program in the future. Primarily, the project provided practical experience for master’s students in focusing on empirical legal research to inform their judgment regarding legal issues. They reflected on how introducing real world data into theoretical arguments can aid in their own understanding of legal research as well as future involvement in the legal profession, which increasingly integrates different forms of expertise in both the public and private sectors.