Faculty of Law Twilight Seminar

Open to the Public - All Are Welcome

THE MAGIC MACHINE: Why We Should Be Cautiously Optimistic About The Impact of AI Upon Legal Education

Presented by Professor Nick James

Bond University, Faculty of Law (Building 4), Level 3, Room 3_37 - View on campus map

Closest Parking: PG2 (Parking General 2) - View on campus map

Open to the Public – All Are Welcome.

The seminar will commence at 5.30pm with light refreshments being offered from 5pm (vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options available).

The rapid emergence and integration of generative AI technologies into legal practice is reshaping the landscape of legal education. In this presentation, Professor James critically examines the impact of generative AI on the education of future lawyers, focusing on what law students are taught—both in terms of substantive legal knowledge and practical legal skills—and how they are taught and assessed. Generative AI tools offer significant benefits for legal education, including enhanced access to legal information, personalised learning experiences, and new opportunities for skill development through simulation and feedback. However, these technologies also pose challenges that demand urgent attention: risks to academic integrity, potential erosion of critical thinking and legal reasoning skills, and the need to recalibrate assessment methods to ensure meaningful evaluation of student learning. Professor James argues that the widespread adoption of AI is compelling legal academics to reflect deeply on the core purposes and methods of law school teaching. This reflection, while often demanding for individual educators, is both necessary and overdue. By confronting these challenges, legal education can evolve to better prepare students for the realities of modern legal practice, where collaboration with AI tools will be commonplace. Ultimately, Professor James contends that embracing the transformative potential of AI, while critically addressing its limitations, will lead to a more resilient, adaptive, and effective legal education system. This evolution will not only enhance the quality of law student learning but also ensure tomorrow’s legal professionals are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in an AI-augmented legal world.

Professor Nick James

Professor Nick James is the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Law at Bond University. A former commercial lawyer, he has worked as a legal academic since 1996 and is widely recognised for his leadership in legal education. His teaching and research expertise spans climate law, critical legal theory, business law, enterprise governance, and disruption of the legal services sector by emergent technologies such as AI. He has authored several leading textbooks and received national recognition for teaching excellence, including a Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. Professor James is Co-Director of the Bond University Centre for Professional Legal Education (CPLE), Co-Chair of the Council of Australian Law Deans (CALD), and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.