Stanford Law's liftlab unites research and industry to advance AI for better, more accessible legal services

Stanford Law launches liftlab to make AI deliver better legal services

September 15, 2025 - Stanford, CA. Stanford Law School announced the Legal Innovation through Frontier Technology Lab (liftlab), a new program focused on AI that improves the quality and reach of legal services. The goal is not speed for its own sake, but better judgment, broader access, and training that compounds.

Led by Professor Julian Nyarko and Executive Director Megan Ma, liftlab is one of the first academic efforts in legal AI to link research, prototyping, and real-world collaboration in one place. The mission: connect rigorous scholarship with live practice needs so tools actually work where lawyers work.

Why this matters for legal teams

"The legal profession has not just an opportunity, but an obligation, to do more than just boost efficiency," said Nyarko, faculty director of liftlab and co-chair of the Stanford Law AI Initiative. "We want to understand how technology can surface the expertise and reasoning that underpin the legal system in order to deliver better legal advice, prevent disputes, efficiently train new lawyers, and share the kinds of strategic insights that today only experienced practitioners tend to be able to leverage."

• Deliver clearer, more defensible advice by grounding tools in legal reasoning, not shortcuts.
• Reduce downstream disputes with language models that flag risk before it hits court.
• Level up training through simulations that compress years of exposure into hours.
• Expand access with multilingual, empathetic intake that meets clients where they are.

Built with practice, guided by research

Liftlab's founding advisors include Harvey, Cleary Gottlieb, Davis Wright Tremaine, and Vorys, among others. These partnerships keep prototypes aligned with matter-level realities while preserving an academic mandate to produce work that is public-facing and profession-wide.

"Stanford Law School has long been a leader in anticipating the future of legal practice," said George Triantis, the Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean of Stanford Law School. "In liftlab, Nyarko and Ma are bringing together rigorous research and real-world collaboration to enhance legal judgment, training, and access to justice. I'm proud that Stanford is on the forefront of asking what AI can-and should-do for the legal profession."

Part of a broader AI agenda

Liftlab sits within the Stanford Law AI Initiative, alongside efforts spanning intellectual property, health care, professional responsibility, and government partnerships. The law school's track record runs from early computational logic and legal informatics to current work with the Deborah L. Rhode Center on the Legal Profession, RegLab, and the Legal Design Lab.

Liftlab works closely with computer scientists, linguists, and scholars at Stanford HAI to develop and test tools that bridge law and technology with clear evaluation metrics.

What liftlab is building right now

• Multi-agent simulations: Model how legal teams interact and make decisions to stress-test strategy, staffing, and process.
• Multimodal systems: Combine text, audio, and visual inputs to analyze workflows like depositions and witness prep.
• Legal-specific language models: Train AI to read, reason, and draft against the grain of complex legal text.

• Contractual Drafting Risk Assessment: Built with HAI, this tool analyzes thousands of contract-interpretation opinions to flag wording historically prone to dispute, helping drafters write clearer, more resilient agreements.
• Negotiation and practice simulations: Immersive exercises that help junior lawyers and students develop judgment and communication under realistic constraints.
• AI intake specialist (Immigrants' Rights Clinic): A multilingual, empathetic voice agent that handles initial screening by call or text, freeing attorneys to focus on legal work.

How firms and innovators are engaging

"Law is one of the most complex and language-intensive domains for AI, and it demands solutions that are both powerful and responsible," said Gabe Pereyra, co-founder and president of Harvey. "Working with liftlab means these technologies can be explored in partnership with practicing lawyers, students, and scholars. That combination of academic rigor and real-world perspective is rare." Harvey has also launched a law-school alliance program to embed generative AI into legal education.

"At Cleary Gottlieb, our commitment to innovation has always included how we approach the training and development of our people," said Managing Partner Michael Gerstenzang. "Our partnership with liftlab is an important part of providing top-tier training experiences, using AI to augment and shape our lawyers' learning and growth, and preparing them to effectively and responsibly use technology in delivering legal advice and service to our clients."

"At Davis Wright Tremaine, innovation is part of our DNA, which is why we've built deep collaborations with Stanford's legal technology ecosystem, starting with CodeX, and now liftlab," said Daniel Szabo, Senior Director of Innovation. "Liftlab continues that spirit of experimentation."

"We are honored to collaborate with liftlab, a unique initiative that combines Stanford's academic excellence with a clear focus on real-world impact," said Michael Martz, managing partner at Vorys. The firm is partnering with liftlab on an AI tool to streamline workflow in patent filings.

Practical takeaways for legal leaders

• Prioritize AI projects that reduce risk and sharpen advice quality, not just throughput.
• Use neutral, research-backed evaluation before adopting tools at scale.
• Invest in simulations and structured practice to accelerate associate development.
• Deploy multilingual intake to expand reach and improve client experience.

For teams planning structured upskilling, explore AI learning paths by role: AI courses by job.

About Stanford Law School

Stanford Law School is a global leader in legal scholarship and education. Faculty argue before the Supreme Court, testify before Congress, publish impactful research, and contribute regularly to national policy conversations. The school's model blends interdisciplinary training, hands-on experience, global perspective, and public service.

Liftlab's throughline is clear, said Ma. "Our collaborations allow us to develop tools shaped by actual user needs and capable of delivering meaningful value in professional settings. They also help bring transparency and clarity to the metrics that define quality. Many law firms are eager to experiment with AI tools, but lack the time or infrastructure to evaluate these tools rigorously. That's where we come in-offering a research-backed, neutral space to test, refine, and develop what actually works."