AI at Moritz

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to prove its far-reaching impact across industries, including legal education. At Moritz, faculty experts and students alike are asking big questions about its impact, its capabilities, and its effect on the legal landscape. 

Students entering law school recognize AI is a tool they need to know about but still have some hesitation. A recent survey of the incoming 1L class showed a range of attitudes and experiences with AI in education. Forty-seven percent of respondents said they did not use AI for academic tasks when they were last in school, and 42% said they never used AI in a professional setting. Among those who identified as frequent AI users, most said they used it to check their work or get feedback. Accuracy and integrity issues were the top reasons respondents gave for not using generative AI.  

To help students feel more comfortable using this emerging technology, incoming 1Ls had the option to sign up for AI in the Law. Over half the class signed up for this new, non-credit course this fall.  

It was taught by six permanent faculty members at Moritz with expertise in AI, rather than an independent company or adjunct faculty. Each faculty member is also part of the AI@Moritz committee, which takes a holistic look at the ways AI is impacting the teaching and practice of law. These committee members are also active with their own research related to AI and are being recognized for their work nationally. Examples of committee members and their work include:  

• Rebecca Fordon teaches and speaks about legal research and legal tech, including generative AI. At Moritz, she developed and teaches a legal tech course called 21st Century Lawyering. Additionally, Fordon is a board member of the Free Law Project and one of the creators of AILawLibrarians.com.    

Recently, Fordon was been named a finalist for the 2025 American Legal Technology Awards (ALTA). These awards honor exceptional achievement in various categories related to legal technology. Fordon was one of three finalists from across the nation in the Education category.    

• Dennis Hirsch holds a joint appointment in the Moritz College of Law and the Department of Computer Science and is a core faculty member of the Translational Data Analytics Institute. He directs the Program on Data and Governance, which focuses on the governance of advanced analytics and AI, and co-directs the Responsible Data Science Community of Practice, a community of over 100 researchers focused on the ethical and just use of advanced analytics and AI. 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded funding to Hirsch, Ohio State University, and its partner universities to create the Center on Responsible AI and Governance (CRAIG). CRAIG will be housed at Moritz and focus on developing the knowledge and workforce required to pursue safe, accurate, impartial, and accountable AI. Several industry partners, including leading tech, auto, and insurance companies, have already expressed interest in being part of CRAIG which is funded through the NSF's Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IURC) program. Their knowledge, in addition to insights from government agencies, will help advance research surrounding responsible AI. 

• Amy Schmitz is the John Deaver Drinko-Baker & Hostetler Endowed Chair in Law and serves as co-director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute Responsible Data Science Community of Practice. Along with Moritz Professor Bill Froehlich, she recently started medAItion, a regular column in Mediation Magazine that examines how AI is being integrated into mediation practices. 

Schmitz is also the director of JusticeTech, a program that connects law and technology to tackle access to justice challenges. Based at Moritz, the program partners with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the Institute for Cybersecurity and Digital Trust to develop free, ethical legal tools. At the heart of the program is the JusticeTech Capstone Practicum. In this hands-on course, law and computer science students team up to design solutions for real legal issues. Recently, this included assisting the Franklin County Municipal Court’s Self Help Center in addressing the eviction crisis.   

Each of these efforts also support Ohio State’s AI Fluency Initiative, which seeks to equip students with the ability to understand, use, question, and innovate with AI tools. Between research and teaching efforts, Moritz is leading the way with the expertise and knowledge needed to prepare lawyers and leaders.