A recent study revealed that utilizing artificial intelligence to assist in various legal writing tasks enabled law students to expedite their assignments. However, the study noted that the outcomes did not consistently surpass those of their peers who did not use AI.
The research indicated that students with lower grades in their regular coursework demonstrated more significant enhancements in their legal writing assignments when utilizing GPT-4 compared to their higher-achieving counterparts. This highlights that the benefits of AI are contingent on the user’s proficiency and the nature of the legal tasks.
Titled “Lawyering in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” the study suggests that conceptual AI is poised to become an essential tool for professionals, akin to established legal-tech platforms such as Westlaw, Lexis, and metadata programs (both owned by the same parent company, Westlaw and Reuters).
Conducted by two law professors from the University of Minnesota and one from the University of Southern California, this study is part of a series of research endeavors exploring AI in legal education. A previous study by two of the authors revealed that exposure to GPT-4 enhanced the performance of underperforming law students in final exams but had a detrimental effect on high-achieving students. While a subsequent study indicated that GPT-4 could pass the bar exam, earlier versions showed comparable scores to those of struggling law students.
GPT-4, a substantial language model supported by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, generates human-like language responses based on user inputs.
In this latest study, sixty law students from Minnesota underwent GPT-4 training before completing four distinct writing tasks: drafting a complaint, contract, employee handbook section, and client memo. Each student used GPT-4 for two tasks and completed the other two without AI assistance, with all assignments subsequently graded.
The authors observed that, except for the lease drafting task, GPT-4 did not yield significant improvements in analytical quality. Nevertheless, utilizing GPT-4 notably reduced the time taken to complete assignments. For instance, students using GPT-4 for drafting a complaint spent 32% less time on average.
Given the technology’s pronounced benefit for struggling students, the study recommends that law schools prohibit the use of AI in foundational first-year courses and exams. However, it suggests the introduction of advanced courses focusing on the appropriate integration of artificial intelligence in legal practice.
