Inside the Law School’s AI Lab

The University of Chicago Law School launched an innovative AI Lab, a workshop focused on equipping law students with the skills to build and deploy AI-powered legal tools. The inaugural project, LeaseChat, is a generative AI chatbot designed to help renters understand their lease agreements and tenant rights, addressing a critical access-to-justice gap. Led by legal tech entrepreneur Kimball Dean Parker, the lab operated like a start-up, assigning roles based on students’ diverse backgrounds and skills. Students, including Marley McAliley, Alfredo Taboada, and Adan Ordonez, brought varied experiences – from public relations at Google to legal practice in Colombia and software development – to the project.

The team initially planned to enhance a legal database with AI but pivoted to focus on prompt engineering as AI models rapidly improved. Marketing efforts, spearheaded by McAliley, successfully garnered media attention for LeaseChat, including segments on NBC News Chicago and Telemundo Chicago. The experience highlighted the potential of AI to augment, but not replace, legal expertise, emphasizing the importance of clearly distinguishing between legal information and advice.

Since its launch, LeaseChat has assisted hundreds of users, and Parker is seeking partners for long-term hosting and improvement. The lab underscored the accessibility of AI tools and their potential to level the playing field for smaller legal practitioners. Students expressed enthusiasm for integrating AI into their future legal careers, recognizing its transformative power and the need for legal professionals to embrace this technology.

(Source：Uchicago)