Samantha A. Moppett (Suffolk), Preparing Students for the Artificial Intelligence Era: The Crucial Role of Critical Thinking Skills, 52 Mitchell Hamline L. Rev. __ (2025):
As artificial intelligence transforms the legal profession, the role of critical thinking skills among legal professionals becomes increasingly vital. This Article argues that while AI will automate many routine legal tasks, successful legal practice in the AI era will require lawyers to possess robust critical thinking abilities to effectively evaluate AI outputs, develop strategic solutions, and handle complex analytical work that AI cannot replicate. However, at this crucial juncture, evidence suggests a significant deficit in critical thinking skills among incoming law students. This deficit poses particular challenges as the legal profession increasingly integrates generative AI tools that can handle routine legal tasks but require human oversight and evaluation.
This Article examines the intersection of AI technology, critical thinking skills, and legal education. It begins by analyzing the current state of AI in legal practice, with particular attention to generative AI's capabilities and limitations. The Article then explores the nature of critical thinking, including both its cognitive skills and dispositional components, and explains why these skills are essential for legal practice in the AI era.
Finally, the Article addresses the current critical thinking deficit among law students and proposes that law schools must take a more focused approach to developing these crucial skills. This includes reconsidering traditional assessment methods that may allow students to use AI tools in ways that circumvent the development of essential critical thinking abilities. The Article concludes that law schools must adapt their curricula and teaching methods to ensure graduates possess the critical thinking skills necessary to practice law effectively in an AI-augmented legal landscape.
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