LAW 7077

Critical Evaluation of Legal Information

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

Critical evaluation of legal information requires us to examine the structures, data, and perspectives that produce the legal information law students and lawyers use, and to identify those that are excluded from the production of legal information. This skill also requires us to question the lenses through which we ourselves discover and assess legal information. Students will sharpen their critical perspectives and develop their skills in evaluating legal information, becoming more able to articulate the way that legal information is produced; to explain, demonstrate, and critique the growing impact of artificial intelligence on legal information and data-driven processes powering legal software and tools; to more closely evaluate and choose from available tools and resources; to identify sources that are excluded or not available; and to describe the impact of legal information structures, data, and sources on access to justice. By engaging in hands-on practice and critical reflection, students will identify challenges lawyers and others will encounter when using legal information tools that incorporate AI and generative AI and will develop strategies to tackle them to conduct responsible legal research and analysis as these tools evolve. The topics in this experiential colloquium will address three major concepts: The nature and meaning of critical legal information literacy, focusing on the US-based legal researcher; Practical applications of critical legal information literacy and access to justice issues; The impacts of technological change, data, and embedded AI on legal information and access to justice, and the specific skills the lawyer must develop when working with legal information tools with AI and generative AI components.

Last 4 Terms Offered 2025SP, 2024SP, 2023SP, 2022SP

View Enrollment Information