Mississippi College Law School Makes AI Training Mandatory for All Students
Mississippi College School of Law requires all first-year students to complete a course on artificial intelligence, making it the first law school in the Southeast with such a mandate. The school held its first two-day intensive AI course last month, which included a hands-on final project.
Dean John Anderson said the goal is to train students "to use the technology effectively, efficiently, and ethically and avoid a lot of the headlines that you've seen already where lawyers take shortcuts by using these technologies."
Why Law Schools Are Acting Now
Lawyers have already made costly mistakes with AI. A federal judge in Mississippi admitted his staff used AI to draft a court order full of errors. In another case, a judge fined a lawyer $20,000 for using AI in court filings. AI models have also fabricated defendants, quotes, and entire cases.
Anderson said the need for AI education crystallized when he saw a 5th Circuit judicial conference presentation in 2023. A presenter demonstrated how AI could review millions of documents and produce a draft in seconds-work that would normally take a team of lawyers weeks.
"Of course you're not going to submit this but you've got a first draft that is pretty darn good," Anderson said.
What the Course Covers
Oliver Roberts, editor-in-chief of AI at The National Law Review and founder of Wickard AI, designed and taught the course. It covers widely used tools like Westlaw's AI research program, the regulatory environment, and ethical use guidelines.
The course also included a legislative perspective. Roberts brought in state Sen. Bradford Blackmon, a Democrat from Canton, to discuss Mississippi's emerging AI policy. Blackmon authored several AI regulation bills this session, though none passed. He plans to reintroduce at least one bill next year.
For their final project, students created legal app prototypes. They developed tools for jury selection strategy, bias detection, legal memo drafting, and automated time tracking. Roberts said students were engaged and enthusiastic about the technology's possibilities.
"Whether you like AI or not, I believe you should be learning about it because you can strengthen your arguments for it or against it by learning the foundational concepts of it," Roberts said.
Broader Institutional Investment
The mandatory course is part of a larger commitment. Last year, Mississippi College launched the Center for AI Policy and Technology Leadership, a collaboration between its business and law schools. The center produces academic papers, white papers, and training for students and working professionals.
Anderson said the law school has additional projects in development with more announcements coming.
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