Albany Law School Pioneers Mandatory Legal Tech Competency Course for First-Year Students

Celebrating its 175th year, with its very creation an act of innovation, Albany Law School is poised to serve as a pioneer in legal education again, becoming one of the first law schools in the country to require first-year law students to take a course in legal technology competence.

Starting this academic year, all incoming first-year law students will take "Introduction to Law Practice in the Digital Age."  This required, one-credit course is specifically designed to provide essential instruction in core legal technologies with a heavy focus on the ways in which generative artificial intelligence (AI) will transform the practice of law in the coming decade.

The comprehensive curriculum spans two semesters with sessions designed to combine instructor-led overviews with hands-on guidance and practical exercises that will prepare students to be practice ready in the technology-infused legal profession they will enter when they graduate law school.  

“At Albany Law School, we are committed to staying at the forefront of legal innovation and ensuring that our students have the skills they will need to excel in the coming decades as the practice of law evolves in response to changing technologies. We are excited about this new course and confident that it will position our students to think critically and to succeed in their chosen careers,” said Cinnamon P. Carlarne, Albany Law’s President and Dean.

The program begins at orientation and will take the students throughout their first year, getting them ready to contribute to the profession as early as internships in the summer after their first year of law school.  The course goes beyond the basics of online legal research and will teach them how to master emerging technologies like machine learning and generative artificial intelligence and to understand how it can be used to make lawyers’ work more efficient and effective, so students and graduates can deliver real value to their employers and the clients they serve.

A significant portion of the new curriculum is dedicated to Artificial Intelligence, reflecting the technology's growing impact on the field of law. Students will explore the foundations and history of AI, alongside the critical importance of data collection, preparation, and visualization. Students are introduced to neural networks and machine learning, while analyzing the inherent strengths, performance metrics, and limitations of these models.  Students will explore Natural Language Processing (NLP), discover the "art of prompting" for legal document drafting, and learn about Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for automating routine administrative tasks.

Albany Law’s new course emphasizes how to use these tools responsibly, with modules specifically focused on the ethical adoption of AI. Students will identify potential biases in AI systems, examine data privacy issues, analyze societal impacts through case studies, and review foundational cybersecurity basics.

The course culminates in capstone experiences near the end of the first year with strategies for integrating technology efficiently, effectively, and ethically into legal practice and project management. The final modules aim to foster active, continuous learning habits so future law students and lawyers can adapt to a field where technical knowledge can quickly become outdated.

“Through this course, our students will develop a deep understanding of how to utilize the new and emerging technologies that are going to have a profound impact on the practice of law in the coming decade.  They will possess the new skills necessary to set them apart and prepare them for success as students, and, ultimately, graduates and professionals, as the practice of law is transformed due to the technologies our students will come to master,” said Ray Brescia, the Honorable Harold R. Tyler Chair in Law and Technology and Associate Dean for Research and Intellectual Life at Albany Law School.

Brescia will be one of the instructors teaching the course and was involved in its design.