AI LAWYERING SKILLS TRAINERS: TRANSFORMING LEGAL EDUCATION WITH GENERATIVE AI.

• Date: 01 January 2025
• Author: Serra, Alexandria

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
                ABSTRACT 74
                INTRODUCTION 77
                 I. AI IN THE NUMBERS 80
                 II. THE "WHY" OF GENAI SKILLS TRAINERS 84
                 A. Early Adoption of AI in Legal Education 84
                 B. Benefits for Students 85
                 1. Continuous Access to Coaching 86
                 2. Privacy and Experimentation 86
                 3. Enhanced Student Engagement 88
                 4. Practical Skill Enhancement 89
                 5. Supporting Data on Tutoring Effectiveness 89
                 6. Preparing Students for Careers in Law 90
                III. DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF MOOTMENTORAI 91
                 A. How MootMentorAI Started 91
                 B. Tool Selection: CustomGPT.AI vs. ChatGPT Custom GPT 92
                 C. Design Methodology 93
                 D. Align Phase 95
                 1. Identifying Needs and Opportunities: 95
                 2. Compiling Instructional Support Materials: 95
                 E. Get Set Phase 97
                 1. Defining the User Experience: 97
                 2. Designing AI's Interaction Strategy: 97
                 F. Iterate & Implement Phase 97
                 1. Building and Testing AI Tools: 97
                 2. Iterative Improvements and Feedback: 98
                 G. Leverage and Evaluate Phase 99
                 1. Designer-Led Leveraging and Evaluation: 99
                 2. student-Led Testing: 99
                 IV. LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE 100
                 A. Future Trends in AI and Legal Education 100
                 B. Recommendations for Law Schools 101
                 1. AI for Student Learning: 101
                 2. AI for Instructional Development: 103
                 V. GETTING STARTED ON A CUSTOM AI TOOL 104
                 A. Initial Setup 104
                 B. Utilizing Training Data for a Controlled Environment 109
                 C. Testing & Refinement 110
                 D. Feedback 111
                 E. Deployment and Use 114
                CONCLUSION 115
                APPENDIX A 117
                APPENDIX B 128
                

INTRODUCTION

Legal education stands on the brink of transformation. In a rapidly evolving, tech-driven legal field, (1) law students must master advocacy skills with precision and agility. Yet traditional teaching methods often fall short of providing the continuous, personalized feedback necessary for true mastery. This gap is not due to a lack of effort or expertise from law professors; it's a consequence of the inherent limitations of conventional educational structures. As the legal profession embraces change, the need for innovative, scalable solutions in education has never been more urgent.

Law schools must adopt methods that effectively scale personalized learning to bridge this gap. This article argues for integrating generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Large Language Models (LLMs) in legal education, emphasizing their potential to rapidly elevate advocacy skills and provide tailored educational experiences. (2)

Imagine a world where AI tools designed by law professors simulate real-world experiences, transforming the learning process. These tools can emulate a judge during moot court or act as a witness in a mock examination, offering realistic practice tailored to each student's needs. AI-powered one-on-one tutors create immersive, interactive learning environments that seamlessly integrate theory with practice, offering limitless access to personalized instruction. This approach not only enhances the learning experience but also prepares students for the complexities of real-world practice.

The proven benefits of personalized feedback in education underscore the potential impact of AI-driven tools. Sixty years ago, Benjamin Bloom, an American educator and psychologist best known for his theories of mastery learning, demonstrated the "Two Sigma Problem:" that students receiving one-on-one tutoring performed two standard deviations better than those in traditional classroom settings--which is equivalent to moving from the 50th to the 98th percentile. (3) Recent studies echo this finding, showing that AI-driven tutoring platforms, like Khan Academy, can significantly boost student performance. (4) For instance, students who increased their usage of Khan Academy's personalized tutoring options showed marked improvements in their Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth test scores, with consistent gains across different grades and demographic groups. (5) Notably, students in the lower quartile achieved the most significant progress, demonstrating that AI-driven individualized instruction can effectively narrow the achievement gap for struggling learners. (6)

By enhancing the skills of the most challenged students, law schools can elevate the overall quality of their graduates, which directly impacts job placement rates and law school rankings. With the global AI market projected to reach almost $300 billion by 2026, (7) and nearly half of the 200 largest law firms in the United States investing in generative AI tools, the message is clear: Generative AI is shaping the future of the legal profession. (8)

Drawing on this potential, I developed MootMentorAI, a cutting-edge tool designed to advance lawyering skills training at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law (UMKC Law). Specifically tailored to UMKC Law's 1L Oral Argument Problem, MootMentorAI simulates a courtroom environment, acting as a judge and delivering continuous, personalized coaching. This tool enables students to refine their advocacy skills in real-time, effectively transforming theoretical knowledge and practical expertise. This article goes beyond the sample tool developed to argue for the extensibility of this model to be integrated into numerous other courses. The unique benefits of GenAI trainers include:

1. Continuous access to coaching, where students can hone their skills outside traditional business hours, with 24/7, year-round access to a trainer equipped to provide comprehensive feedback;

2. A safe space for experimentation and confidence building: AI environments allow students to test creative arguments, experience failure, and learn without the pressure of grading or judgment, fostering creativity and resilience. The ability to repeat scenarios also builds confidence; and

3. Real-time, personalized feedback: AI tools cater to individual needs and learning styles, enabling students to develop skills effectively on their own terms.

As educators, the core mission is to equip law students with the skills they need to succeed in a complex, rapidly evolving profession. AI tools like MootMentorAI demonstrate how technology can complement traditional teaching methods, offering scalable solutions to some of the most pressing challenges in legal education. Importantly, even educators with no coding experience can create, test, and implement AI tools in their classrooms. If firms--and many other sectors--are building AI tools, law schools must also do so. (9)

This article explores the rationale for incorporating AI into law school curricula and examines programs like MootMentorAI to highlight its design, functionality, practical applications, and future directions. Part II discusses the expanding role of AI in education and market trends, while Part III examines the reasoning behind AI-based skills trainers in legal education. Part VI offers a detailed, step-by-step guide on how faculty can design their own GPT, utilizing the iterative methodology employed in developing MootMentorAI. Part V focuses on the specific benefits to students. Lastly, the appendices provide additional resources: Appendix A includes a transcript of a practice session, and Appendix B demonstrates the tool's development on an alternative platform.

I. AI IN THE NUMBERS

The integration of AI in education is more than a trend; it is a seismic shift reshaping the field. This section examines the rapid expansion of AI's role in education and the legal sector, highlighting the necessity for educators to incorporate these technologies to better prepare students for future challenges. The use of AI in education enhance students' preparation in research and writing, while also serving as a teacher, coach, simulator, and tutor.

K-12 education demonstrates how AI can change learning, offering lessons for broader application. One notable example of AI's impact is Khan Academy, a non-profit organization with more than 135 million users. (10) Kahn Academy tailors educational content to the individualized needs of each student, which significantly boosts the student's academic performance. (11) A study by Carnegie Learning found that students who used AI-driven tutoring systems improved their math test scores by 30% over one semester compared to students who did not use AI tutors. (12) These findings underscore the effectiveness of AI in providing personalized, real-time feedback and adaptive learning paths, which proves to be especially beneficial for students in the lower quartile who demonstrate the most significant progress. (13)

GenAI's success in K-12 education contributes to AI's broader enthusiasm, which helps drive the substantial growth of the educational AI market. Valued at $3.99 billion in 2023, the AI market is projected to grow to $21.13 billion by 2028, which represents an annual growth rate of 39.6%, due to the rising adoption of AI technologies, such as personalized learning, adaptive systems, and AI-enabled assessment tools. (14)

While law schools are increasingly incorporating AI into their curricula, the focus largely remains on traditional areas such as legal research and writing. The 2024 AI and Legal Education Survey conducted by the ABA Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence reveals that 83% of responding law schools offer AI-related classes or opportunities. (15) Still, these opportunities are predominantly centered around legal analytics, research, and document drafting. (16) However, few schools are exploring AI's potential as a comprehensive tutor, coach, or simulator, which could offer continuous, personalized training in essential legal skills. (17) Although 62% of law schools have integrated AI into their first-year curriculum, this integration still leans heavily toward foundational research tools rather than innovative approaches to skill development. (18) To fully leverage AI's potential, law schools must expand their focus beyond conventional applications and consider how these technologies can function as dynamic, personalized training tools that...