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chicken Olivier Roberts Arriving at WashU Law last January to teach a new winter course called “AI in Law,” he expected curiosity — but not a crowd. Instead, the classroom was filled with more than 75 students, alumni and faculty eager to understand how artificial intelligence was already reshaping the legal profession.
“After the second class, I spoke with Dean Stefanie Lindquist,” says Roberts, an assistant professor at WashU Law and now co-director of the AI Collaborative, along with Ryan Durrie, senior lecturer in law and associate director of policy at the Cordell Institute. “She told me that AI was one of her top priorities, and we immediately started thinking about how to make it into something bigger. Within weeks, we sketched out the framework for what became the WashU AI Collaborative, and now, WashU Law’s position as a global leader in AI education.”
What started as a week-long experiment quickly grew into a major university initiative. THE University of Washington AI Collaboration at WashU Law, launched in spring 2025, is now the school’s artificial intelligence innovation, education and research hub. It connects faculty, students, alumni and practitioners to the new intersections of law, technology and ethics – and quickly positions the university as a national leader in the field.
Building an “AI branch” for the law faculty
From the beginning, Roberts had a clear goal: to create an “AI branch” for WashU Law – one that would not only teach students about the impact of AI on the law, but also inspire lawyers, judges, and policymakers to understand its real-world applications.
In March, Roberts and company, Wickard AIorganized a two-day intensive program open to students and alumni. Within weeks, the collective began offering a series of continuing legal education (CLE) sessions on pressing policy topics, including federal preemption of state AI laws, the environmental impact of data centers, and the legal implications of generative AI.
“We’ve done several CLEs,” says Roberts. “Their goal is to help lawyers, students, and even lay people understand what’s happening in the AI policy landscape,” says Roberts. “It’s about demystifying this technology and helping people understand both its promise and its risks. »
CLEs, Roberts says, aim to “help lawyers, students and even lay people understand what’s happening in the AI policy landscape. It’s about demystifying this technology and helping people see both its promise and its risks.”
Another signature event, Legal AI Demo Day, is a series of events that brings together 10-15 legal tech companies simultaneously to showcase AI-powered tools in rapid-fire demonstrations. Each session attracts over a thousand RSVPs, with hundreds of attendees live online to explore how AI products are already transforming legal work. These events brought together leading legal technology companies such as Harvey, Legora, Laurel, Spellbook, Trellis, DraftWise and LegalOn Technologies. Attendees included leading law firms and corporations including Jones Day, Walmart, EY, Capital One, Spotify, Sullivan & Cromwell, Orrick, Reed Smith, Jackson Lewis, Mayer Brown, Norton Rose, Greenberg Traurig, Paul Weiss, WilmerHale, Troutman, O’Melveny, Alston & Bird, Holland & Knight, DLA Piper and many more.
“This is our way of bringing the world of legal technology together. We want lawyers to see what’s possible: how these systems are changing efficiency, access to justice and even the structure of the legal profession itself.”
“This is our way of bringing the world of legal technology together. We want lawyers to see what’s possible: how these systems are changing efficiency, access to justice and even the structure of the legal profession itself.”
Olivier Roberts
A transformative moment
Roberts has taught AI and law at nearly a dozen universities and developed the first law-required AI course in the country, at Case Western Reserve University. Through Wickard AI, it partnered with WashU to implement the collaborative programs and expand its reach internationally.
He believes the changes brought about by AI are as radical as any in the history of law. “No technology allows you to type in a prompt like ‘Write me a motion’ and get a complete, structured draft in seconds,” he says. “Of course, it’s not perfect, but it’s a game-changer in terms of speed and efficiency. It replaces a lot of the work that first-year associates were doing. I think we’ll eventually see a transition to software-as-a-service models, where law firms license AI tools that handle early drafts of legal work.”
But that doesn’t mean young lawyers will become obsolete. According to Roberts, this change highlights the importance of education. “We teach students that AI can be a powerful force for good,” he says. “It can improve attorney effectiveness, deliver better client outcomes and give our graduates a competitive advantage. But we are also focused on risks, including bias, abuse and overconfidence. Understanding both sides is essential.”
And a focus on teaching AI to students has become a focal point at WashU Law. In October, Roberts and Lindquist wrote a column for Bloomberg Law in which they write: “AI can no longer be considered a passing fad. It is reshaping the obligations of lawyers, the standards of care and competence, and the processes by which law is practiced.”
A new type of legal training
For Lindquist, Nickerson Dean of the School of Law and professor of law, the AI Collaborative reinforces the university’s commitment to leadership in areas that are redefining the profession.
“Everyone wants to understand the impact AI will have, but most people don’t understand AI at all,” she says. “This gives us a real opportunity to be a source of education and knowledge, not only for students, but also for faculty, staff and practicing attorneys.” »
“Everyone wants to understand the impact AI will have, but most people don’t understand AI at all,” she says. “This gives us a real opportunity to be a source of education and knowledge, not only for students, but also for faculty, staff and practicing attorneys.” »
Stephanie Lindquist
The law school, she notes, is adopting AI in its own operations and research. “We also opened Oliver’s classes to faculty and staff,” says Lindquist. “We want everyone to understand these tools, because they also have the potential to improve the way we work as an institution – the way we conduct research, write, synthesize documents, and even analyze data. »
Lindquist believes that the scope of AI extends far beyond the law. “AI can help researchers summarize complex documents, create literature reviews, and perform quantitative analyses,” she says. “It’s not just a productivity tool: it reshapes the way we think about knowledge itself. »
But Lindquist also sees profound challenges ahead.
“Artificial intelligence has the capacity to change human life on this planet as we know it,” she says. “This raises huge questions of ethics and governance. At WashU Law, we want to be the place where people think seriously about how to manage this technology ethically and intelligently – so that human beings and the rule of law are not left behind.”
She compares the issues to those of climate change: a global force that is advancing faster than policies can adapt. “If we don’t pay attention to it now,” says Lindquist, “it will get ahead of us. That’s why we’re here – to get ahead of he.”
Leading beyond the classroom
The scope of the collaboration already extends to the judiciary. Roberts recently led a seminar on AI ethics for judges at the Northern District of Mississippi Judicial Conference and led a panel on AI and the future of the judiciary at the Pennsylvania Conference of Trial Judges, where representatives from Westlaw and LexisNexis demonstrated AI prototypes that generate memos. In January, he will lead court-wide training on AI ethics in Washington.
This semester, Roberts partnered with Judge Joshua Deahl of the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals, to teach a seminar titled “AI & the Judiciary,” in which students directly addressed the opportunities and risks for judges using AI. In all of these initiatives, the goal is the same: to equip lawyers, judges and policymakers with the knowledge to use AI responsibly.
The goal of these initiatives is the same: to equip lawyers, judges and policymakers with the knowledge to use AI responsibly. “At WashU, we’re not just responding to AI: we’re shaping how the legal profession responds to it,” says Roberts. “We are helping to create the frameworks that will make AI not only more effective, but also fairer. »
“At WashU, we’re not just responding to AI: we’re shaping how the legal profession responds to it,” says Roberts. “We are helping to create the frameworks that will make AI not only more effective, but also fairer. »
As AI continues to blur the lines between human and artificial intelligence, WashU’s Collaborative AI sits at the frontier, grounded in the belief that technology should serve people, not replace them.
By combining rigorous legal research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and forward-looking leadership, WashU Law ensures that its graduates – and the legal system itself – are ready for the era to come.
