{"slug": "top-us-law-school-bans-laptops-in-lectures-amid-fears-future-lawyers-are-too-on", "title": "Top US law school bans laptops in lectures amid fears future lawyers are becoming too dependent on AI", "summary": "The University of Chicago Law School is banning laptops and smartphones in first-year lectures to reduce AI dependency and promote critical thinking, aiming to develop 'AI-resilient pedagogy' as AI-related legal blunders mount at firms like Pinsent Masons and Sullivan & Cromwell.", "body_md": "New policy\n\n**The University of Chicago has introduced a policy banning its incoming law students from using laptops and smartphones during lectures in a bid to limit AI dependency.**\n\nThe new policy will come into effect at the beginning of this upcoming academic year and will apply to first year (or 1L) law students only.\n\nThe new strategy forms part of the law school’s goal of developing “AI-resilient pedagogy and assessments” and “elevating the ‘essential human’ skills that distinguish excellent lawyers”.\n\nThe use of AI is still incorporated into other parts of the curriculum but in a [” strategy statement”](https://www.law.uchicago.edu/news/ai-strategy-statement) released last week, the law school wrote:\n\nWe need to ensure that our students actually learn to think critically, strategically, and independently without relying on AI; but we also must face the reality that AI tools are already widely available to our students, and our graduates will be expected to be prepared to use them in legal practice.\n\nThis news comes amidst fears and controversies about AI in the legal industry on both sides of the Atlantic, with [Pinsent Masons](https://www.legalcheek.com/firm/pinsent-masons/)‘ [insolvency proceedings blunder](https://www.legalcheek.com/2026/05/pinsent-masons-criticised-by-judge-over-junior-lawyers-ai-blunder/) and [Sullivan & Cromwell](https://www.legalcheek.com/firm/sullivan-cromwell/)‘s [hallucinations in court](https://www.legalcheek.com/2026/04/sullivan-cromwell-apologises-after-ai-hallucinations-appear-in-court-document/) being the latest in a growing line of AI-based mishaps.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/top-us-law-school-bans-laptops-in-lectures-amid-fears-future-lawyers-are-too-on", "canonical_source": "https://www.legalcheek.com/2026/07/top-us-law-school-bans-laptops-in-lectures-amid-fears-future-lawyers-are-becoming-too-dependent-on-ai/", "published_at": "2026-07-16 06:54:23+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-19 04:05:00.299903+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-ethics", "ai-policy", "artificial-intelligence"], "entities": ["University of Chicago Law School", "Pinsent Masons", "Sullivan & Cromwell"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/top-us-law-school-bans-laptops-in-lectures-amid-fears-future-lawyers-are-too-on", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/top-us-law-school-bans-laptops-in-lectures-amid-fears-future-lawyers-are-too-on.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/top-us-law-school-bans-laptops-in-lectures-amid-fears-future-lawyers-are-too-on.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/top-us-law-school-bans-laptops-in-lectures-amid-fears-future-lawyers-are-too-on.jsonld"}}