LAW 843 - Data Science, AI, and Law

College of Law
2 credit(s)

In this course, we will explore the means and methods by which lawyers can leverage data and technology to deliver more cost-effective legal services. This ability to use newly evolving tools is important in any law practice (as reflected in MRPC 1.1). However, it has the increasing potential to revolutionize legal service delivery in markets that have historically found traditional legal services cost prohibitive. Technology-leveraged law practice and disruptive innovation (terms we will explore in some detail) have already begun to attract the attention of the legal profession over the past decade or two. However, more recent advances in artificial intelligence, especially in the form of large language models (LLMs), have very significantly accelerated this interest. In many ways, the legal profession stands today at a crossroads, looking at a future involving unusually rapid and potentially disruptive change (in a profession not necessarily accustomed to either). In this course, we will consider both the challenges and the opportunities presented in applying data science, generally, and artificial intelligence, specifically, to the practice of law. The course includes two components¿one asynchronous, provided by Datacamp under an Enterprise License with SUCOL (as curated and monitored by SUCOL teaching faculty) and one synchronous via weekly class meetings on Zoom. We will explore general data literacy, data science, and artificial intelligence in the asynchronous portion and then focus more specifically on their application to law practice in the synchronous portion. In doing so, we will also consider how the use of appropriate technology can help to mitigate our persistent problem with access to justice.