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Good practice Imported

UChicago Law's 'Rethinking Legal Education' Strategy — Coordinated Device Ban Across All Nine 1L Courses

United States of America · Chicago · See the United States of America profile · See the Chicago profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 81% 33/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

For 2026-2027, University of Chicago Law School is piloting a coordinated ban on laptops, tablets and phones across all nine core 1L courses, part of a published AI Strategy Statement meant to protect foundational legal skills from generative-AI erosion.

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
University of Chicago Law School
Period
2026-2027
Keywords
higher education, legal education, academic integrity, assessment

Context

University of Chicago Law School faculty argue generative AI risks eroding foundational legal skills — sustained reading, note-taking and argument construction — before students develop them.

Activities

For 2026-2027, the school is piloting a coordinated ban on laptops, tablets and phones across all nine of its core first-year (1L) courses, part of a published 'AI Strategy Statement' titled 'Rethinking Legal Education in the AI Era.' Exams in these courses are administered in class without internet or file access; professors may designate a rotating student 'scribe' for electronic notes or allow devices for in-class polling, with disability accommodations as required by law. In parallel, legal research and writing courses require a first draft without AI assistance, while permitting AI for research, revision and oral-argument preparation, after which both the written work and the student's AI usage are reviewed.

Conclusions

Because the policy is new for 2026-2027, no data yet exists on bar-passage rates, writing quality or critical-thinking outcomes under the no-device rule; legal trade press reports other law schools are watching the experiment closely, but no other institution has adopted an equivalent coordinated, school-wide device policy.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Short (< 1 year)
Staffing & skills
UChicago Law faculty across all nine core 1L courses

Conditions for success

  • Coordinated across all nine core 1L courses rather than left to individual instructors, so the policy is consistent institution-wide
  • Legal research/writing courses pair a no-AI first-draft requirement with permitted AI use for research, revision and oral-argument prep, with both the written work and AI usage reviewed

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