276.48 sec. 1 - AI and the Practice of Law: Public Interest & Private Practice (Fall 2026)
Instructor: Wayne O Stacy (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only)
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 3
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
W 3:35 PM - 6:15 PM
Location: Law 170
From August 19, 2026
To November 30, 2026
Course End: November 30, 2026
Class Number: 33336
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 35
Waitlisted: 28
Enroll Limit: 50
As of: 06/08 10:49 PM
Artificial intelligence reshapes legal practice by accelerating research, analysis, and decision-making while raising critical issues of accuracy, bias, and ethics. This hands-on course immerses students in AI tools across key sectors, enabling them to develop a shared vocabulary and evaluate benefits like efficiency gains against limitations such as hallucinations and data privacy risks. Participants experiment with real platforms to build proficiency and anticipate regulatory and technological shifts, including how to assess tool outputs and claims about performance.
Course Structure
The course is divided into four hands-on modules, each blending theory, practical exercises, and forward-looking analysis. A key focus for all four modules will be to illustrate how the risks and benefits vary between junior-level attorneys and more advanced-level attorneys.
1. AI Technologies Available to the Legal Industry
Students explore the technologies available to lawyers and legal departments. Hands-on labs involve testing different AI platforms to identify how the platforms vary and what capabilities are available on general-purpose AI platforms when compared to specific legal AI platforms.
2. Use of AI in Litigation and Disputes
Focus centers on drafting, legal research, e-discovery, and case analysis. Exercises reveal benefits in handling massive datasets alongside pitfalls like incomplete data sets, biased algorithms, legal-research limitations. Future monitoring includes AI-assisted judging and evidence admissibility challenges.
3. Use of AI in Commercial Legal Work
Practical sessions cover AI for due diligence, compliance monitoring, licensing, and M&A. Benefits include scalable review of thousands of clauses; limitations involve overlooked nuances in deal structures and overlooked business needs.
4. Use of AI in the Public Interest Sector
Sessions include AI for legal aid chatbots, policy impact modeling, and access-to-justice tools in underserved communities. Analysis weighs equity gains against surveillance risks and accountability gaps in governmental deployments. Forward outlook addresses regulatory frameworks evolving to ensure public sector AI upholds due process and civil rights.
|
Requirements Satisfaction:
|
Exam Notes: (None) Series of papers or assignments throughout the semester
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Intellectual Property and Technology Law
If you are the instructor or their FSU, you may add a file like a syllabus or a first assignment.
Class materials may also be available on bCourses.berkeley.edu
Readers:
No reader.
Books:
Instructor has not yet confirmed their textbook order, please check back later.