WashU Law recently completed the second summer offering of its Pre-Law Program: AI & the Practice of Law, bringing together 29 aspiring law students from colleges and universities across the country for an intensive introduction to AI, legal practice, and the future of the profession.
Following strong student participation and positive course feedback, WashU Law is now expanding the program into a year-round offering. Beginning in Fall 2026, the course will be offered four times each year, providing more pre-law students, incoming law students, and career changers with access to practical legal AI education before they begin formal legal study.
“Students entering law school today will begin their careers in a profession that is already being transformed by artificial intelligence,” said Stefanie Lindquist, the Nickerson Dean of WashU Law. “This program was designed to give aspiring lawyers a practical and responsible understanding of those changes before they arrive on a law school campus.”
During the Summer 2026 program, students participated in live online classes, hands-on exercises, demonstrations of modern legal AI tools, and discussions addressing the ethical, doctrinal, and regulatory questions surrounding AI. As a required component of course completion, each student used AI-assisted development tools to vibe code an original legal technology project.
Feedback collected through the Summer 2026 exit survey reflected a uniformly positive response to the program. All 18 students who completed the survey rated the course as either “highly valuable” or “very valuable” to their understanding of AI and the law. Every survey respondent also indicated that they were “highly likely” or “likely” to recommend the course to future students.
“The course reflects WashU Law’s broader commitment to preparing students for a legal profession in which technological competence, professional judgment, and responsible AI use are increasingly interconnected,” said Oliver Roberts, who teaches the Pre-Law Program: AI & the Practice of Law, and is an adjunct professor at WashU Law and Co-Director of the WashU Law AI Collaborative.
Building a Foundation in Artificial Intelligence and Law
The Pre-Law Program: AI & the Practice of Law introduced students to the concepts underlying modern AI, including machine learning, generative AI, and large language models. Students examined how widely used systems such as ChatGPT generate responses, the types of tasks those systems can perform, and the limitations that legal professionals must understand before relying on AI-generated work.
The course then moved from foundational concepts to practical applications. Students learned how lawyers are using AI in legal research, litigation, contract analysis, document review, drafting, case preparation, and other areas of legal practice.
Participants also studied effective prompting techniques and completed exercises focused on developing clear and structured instructions for AI systems. These assignments required students to assess the quality of AI-generated outputs, identify hallucinations and unsupported claims, and determine when additional verification or human review was necessary.
Drew Michaeli, a rising sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis, said the course addressed both the immediate uses of legal AI and the larger doctrinal questions raised by the technology.
“From demonstrations of modern AI legal tools to debates over whether AI can interpret ordinary meaning to resolve tort disputes, the course engaged with these issues head-on. I left the course with a deeper understanding of how AI is currently and will continue to change the legal landscape.”
Hands-On Engagement with Legal AI
Throughout the course, students participated in live demonstrations of legal technology platforms and completed practical exercises modeled on the types of assignments performed by lawyers.
They analyzed legal problems, tested prompts, and considered how different tools could support litigation and transactional practice. Students were also asked to identify the risks associated with particular AI-assisted workflows and examined professional responsibility guidance concerning the use of generative AI, including duties related to competence, confidentiality, supervision, candor, and verification.
Ulrich Lazatin, an undergraduate sophomore at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said the program gave students an opportunity to examine those professional and doctrinal issues through sustained discussion.
“The program showed me how AI is actually changing legal practice, from ABA Formal Opinion 512 to the doctrinal questions courts are still working out. Professor Roberts and our small cohort turned every Sunday session into a real conversation between people who cared about the material. As a pre-law undergrad, I left better prepared for law school and more excited about the profession I’m about to enter.”
Trenton VanBoening, a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, emphasized the practical value of learning how AI can support legal workflows.
“The course was a fascinating experience and hugely valuable in gaining hands on experience in AI usage in the legal workspace. I see myself carrying many of these skills forward with me as I continue working and learning in the legal space. The practical skills I have learned will be invaluable going forward in maximizing workflows and time efficiency.”
Examining Ethics, Professional Responsibility, and Access to Justice
A central focus of the course was the responsible use of AI in legal practice.
Students considered how lawyers can benefit from emerging tools while continuing to satisfy professional duties involving competence, confidentiality, supervision, candor, accuracy, and client service. The course also addressed the risks of overreliance on AI-generated work and the continuing importance of independent legal judgment.
Connor Kaufmann, a recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame, said the balance between technical training and broader professional questions made the program especially valuable as he prepared for law school.
“As a recent graduate preparing for law school, I found the program especially valuable because it showed me how technical innovation and legal judgment can work together to better serve clients and communities.”
Kevin Mata, a recent Middlebury College graduate and working professional serving on an in-house legal team, said the course gave him the vocabulary and foundational knowledge needed to participate more meaningfully in workplace discussions about AI.
“As a working professional and member of an in-house legal team, navigating the ethical considerations surrounding AI and experimenting with AI tools has only inspired greater curiosity about how I can apply this technology professionally. Most importantly, I now feel equipped with the baseline vocabulary and knowledge necessary to begin engaging in the conversation of ‘AI use’ with my peers and co-workers from an informed perspective of the various ethical questions being asked by industry leaders and AI users.”
Examining AI Regulation, Litigation, and Societal Impact
The program also addressed the broader legal and policy questions surrounding AI.
Students explored emerging state and federal regulatory approaches, potential litigation arising from AI development and deployment, and the growing role of courts, legislatures, agencies, law firms, and private institutions in establishing rules for responsible AI use.
Participants were encouraged to consider both the benefits and risks of AI adoption. While AI may improve efficiency, accessibility, research, and the delivery of legal services, the course emphasized that those benefits must be balanced against concerns involving reliability, fairness, security, professional responsibility, and institutional trust.
Emily Nejad, a recent graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, said the program helped her understand why technical literacy and responsible use will be increasingly important for future attorneys.
“I found this course to be incredibly informative. AI is already transforming the legal profession and understanding the capabilities and limitations of this technology is becoming essential for lawyers. Through this course I have gained a strong foundation in the many uses of AI as well as the importance of ethics and responsible use in legal practice. The knowledge I gained will allow me to better adapt to this changing profession and ultimately become a better advocate and attorney for my future clients.”
For students with interests spanning both law and technology, the interdisciplinary structure of the course provided an opportunity to consider how those fields increasingly overlap.
Dana Rubbo, a sophomore at Colgate University, said the program helped her connect her interest in law with her study of computer science.
“I found this course to be very valuable as someone who is planning on attending law school but is also fascinated by computer science and pursuing a minor in the subject. . . . Having a foundational understanding of AI and its effect on law helped me to visualize how pursuing a career in law can supplement my interests in computer programming. I would highly recommend this course to anyone drawn to tech and computer science with aspirations in public policy and law.”
Applications Now Open for Fall 2026
Following the success of the summer program, WashU Law will offer the Pre-Law Program: AI & the Practice of Law again during Fall 2026. Applications are now open.
The fall program will run from September 27 through November 1, 2026. Live online sessions will be held on Sundays from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. Central Time. The program is open to college seniors, incoming first-year law students at any law school, pre-law undergraduates, and career changers planning to apply to law school. No prior legal or technical experience is required.
The early decision application deadline is August 1, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Central Time. The final application deadline is September 1, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Central Time.
Additional information and the application are available at:
