Cornell Law Adds AI Platform Partnerships as Firms Expect Tool Proficiency
Cornell Law School has signed agreements with Harvey and Legora, two generative AI platforms used in legal work. The partnerships expand the school's existing collaboration with Clio vLex Vincent AI and reflect a broader effort to prepare graduates for a profession increasingly dependent on AI tools.
Law firms are adopting these tools at speed. Students arriving at Cornell already have exposure to AI from summer positions and firm work, according to Kim Nayyer, the school's law librarian and associate dean for library services.
"We have to get in place what our students are needing and what their future employers are expecting," Nayyer said.
Teaching Critical Use, Not Just Tool Operation
Cornell is taking a deliberate approach to how it teaches these platforms. The school is balancing student demand with responsible instruction, Nayyer said.
The tools-Harvey, Legora, and Vincent AI-can streamline document review, analysis, and drafting. But they require careful oversight. "People are so eager to want to do what they can to make their work better that they may not be fully appreciating the practical limitations or implications of what they're doing," Nayyer said.
Lawyers remain accountable for whatever these systems produce. "Everything they do is ultimately their responsibility," she said.
Years of Testing Before Formal Partnerships
Cornell's engagement with AI for legal work predates these new agreements. The school has spent years evaluating AI-assisted research and practice tools through coursework, faculty trials, and library initiatives.
Students have tested multiple platforms in real-world contexts, including CoCounsel before its acquisition by Thomson Reuters Westlaw. This testing ground gives graduates practical experience with competing systems before entering practice.
New Center Aims to Shape, Not Just Respond To, Change
Cornell Law recently launched a Center on Law and AI to bring together faculty, students, and collaborators across the university to engage with how AI is reshaping the profession.
The Center's premise is that law schools should help shape technological change, not simply react to it. "This is a dynamic period in the legal field, with rapidly changing expectations and relevant professional competencies," said Jed Stiglitz, the Center's director. "Our goal is to be on top of the present and agents of the future."
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