University of Chicago Bans 1L Devices in Class as AI Reshapes Legal Education
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 10
University of Chicago Bans 1L Devices in Class as AI Reshapes Legal Education
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 10
Summary
This fall, University of Chicago will bar first-year law students from using phones, tablets and laptops in class, with professors appointing classroom scribes and allowing devices only for limited tech-enabled activities.
The law school said the move is meant to curb AI dependence and force students to develop critical, strategic and independent thinking even as artificial intelligence spreads through higher education.
That ban sits inside a broader three-part strategy to build AI-resilient teaching, emphasize distinctly human legal skills and train students in responsible, effective and ethical AI use.
Students will still be required to use AI for some legal research and writing work, but not to draft assignments for them; faculty will review any AI-assisted work, and upper-level electives will cover legal-tech adoption.