Young JUSTICE: How AI is reshaping law school, legal work and the justice system

Welcome back to the Young JUSTICE newsletter.

A new term, new deadlines, and for many students, a familiar question: should I be using AI for this?

This month, we're looking at how AI is reshaping law schools, legal work and even how people seek legal help.

AI in law school: coursemate or troublemaker?

AI use is widespread on campus, with 94% of students using generative AI to help with assessed work.

Considering ChatGPT – the first large-scale LLM – only came out in 2022, this is a huge shift over a short period.

Fearing that students are becoming overly reliant on AI, some law departments are taking steps to limit its use.

• In the UK, UCL’s Faculty of Laws overhauled its degree to ensure at least half of all assessments take place in-person with no AI access.
• In the US, University of Chicago Law School banned phones, tablets, and laptops from first-year classrooms to prevent shortcuts that "stunt intellectual growth."

Yet universities know AI already plays a role in the legal profession: six in ten UK lawyers now use generative AI for tasks ranging from finding case law to drafting contracts.

Some firms are replacing humans altogether. In June, Garfield AI won its first case in an English court – prepared entirely by an AI lawyer.

That’s why some law schools – such as the University of Law and Suffolk University law school – have introduced dedicated AI training modules.

You may be starting one in the coming weeks.

Can ChatGPT be your lawyer?

But AI isn’t just changing how lawyers work. It’s also transforming how people access legal advice.

JUSTICE recently carried out the first independent large-scale study into how the public use AI chatbots for legal help.

One in six people involved in a legal dispute over the past two years said they had turned to an AI chatbot for support.

The rate was higher for young people, aged 18-24. One in four said they had used a chatbot, compared to just 10% of 55 to 64-year-olds.

You may be relieved to hear that participants were not using AI to replace human lawyers – one in three still sought the advice of a real solicitor, alongside the chatbot.

‘Normal person language’ please

Almost 80 participants shared their chatbot conversation histories, giving us an unusually direct insight into how people interact with AI.

We found users commonly asked chatbots to explain legal jargon and check advice from lawyers.

For example, one person copied and pasted their lawyer’s email and asked for it to be explained in “normal person language” - a feeling anyone who has had to read dense legal text can relate to.

One person found it “very unprofessional” that her solicitor had verified a building’s height using Google Maps. Another asked if it was “appropriate” for her lawyer to request their mortgage funds “without my consent”.

Consumer claims, housing issues and employment disputes were particularly common topics.

Strikingly, people often turned to AI for emotional support.

Participants described feeling frightened about attending court, worried about losing jobs, and overwhelmed by ongoing disputes. One told a chatbot they felt “lost and powerless” at their situation.

As Ellen Lefley, JUSTICE’s Deputy Legal Director, noted: “The question is not whether AI becomes part of people’s legal journeys - it already is. The challenge now is ensuring people receive reliable support, while addressing the unmet legal needs that drive some towards AI in the first place.”

Read more about our work on AI and the justice system here.

In other news...

The government recently dropped much of its controversial plans to restrict jury trials in England and Wales.

This is a huge win. As we said in the last newsletter, cutting jury trials risks damaging public trust while doing nothing to reduce court backlogs.

But our work isn't over. The government has kept some harmful parts of its reforms, which would still cut thousands of jury trials by pushing cases into the magistrates' courts.

As the Courts and Tribunals Bill returns to Parliament this week, we will keep urging MPs to vote against these changes. You can support ongoing efforts by grabbing one of our juries T-shirts, designed by David Shrigley.