Embracing AI in Legal Education: John Tavares’ Journey
As the legal landscape evolves with the rise of artificial intelligence, students at UC Law San Francisco are taking active steps to prepare for this new frontier. One such student is John Tavares, a 3L who dedicated his final semester to creating an AI-driven tool designed for individuals navigating the legal system without representation. His experience has equipped him with technological skills that many in the legal profession are still working to acquire.
3L John Tavares spent his final semester at UC Law SF building an AI tool for people navigating the legal system without a lawyer. He enters practice already fluent in technology that many attorneys are still catching up to understand.
- 3L John Tavares developed an AI tool for self-represented individuals during UC Law SF’s AI-Enabled Lawyers Bootcamp.
- He gained practical experience applying AI to essential legal tasks, including research and drafting.
- He begins his legal career with a solid grasp of the capabilities and limitations of AI in practice.
In this transformative era shaped by artificial intelligence, UC Law San Francisco is preparing students through its interactive AI-Enabled Lawyers Bootcamp. This program emphasizes real-world applications, allowing students to acquire hands-on experience with AI for critical legal tasks such as research, drafting, and document analysis. Participants also delve into the ethical implications surrounding client privilege and professional responsibility. As part of their capstone project, students design their own AI tools, often without prior coding experience.
This spring marked the inaugural session of the AI Bootcamp, a key offering from UC Law SF’s technology law and lawyering center, LexLab, led by Director Drew Amerson. The eight-session course was conceived by Director of Applied Innovation Tal Niv, with guidance from Adjunct Professors Luis Villa and Zoe Dolan ’05, who bring extensive experience in integrating technology into legal practice.
Below, John Tavares shares insights into the AI tool he created for non-lawyers and his reflections on the responsible use of this technology.
Why did you decide to enroll in the AI Bootcamp?
I believe AI possesses significant potential to revolutionize the legal profession, and I wanted to grasp how to leverage these tools effectively as an attorney. My interest particularly lies in applying AI to real legal workflows and understanding how to navigate the associated risks in client interactions.
What were your biggest takeaways?
A key takeaway was observing the rapid evolution of AI capabilities, sometimes even between classes. I also learned the importance of prompting and context; the quality and reliability of outputs are significantly influenced by how inputs are structured. Additionally, I gained insights into how self-represented litigants utilize AI, highlighting both the opportunities it offers and the challenges they face.
Describe your capstone project.
My capstone project is called PromptCounsel. It assists users in transforming simple legal inquiries into more comprehensive, context-rich AI prompts. The tool prompts users with targeted follow-up questions to uncover essential facts they may overlook, ultimately generating a structured issue summary along with an optimized prompt. This aims to enhance the accuracy of legal guidance users receive from AI and better prepare them for consultations with attorneys.
How will this experience shape your work as a new attorney?
This experience has significantly boosted my efficiency and competence in real-world scenarios, and it will continue to be a key advantage as I embark on my legal career. My work during law school has shown me how AI can improve productivity when implemented effectively. I intend to utilize AI tools to facilitate my legal responsibilities and my real estate endeavors, particularly to streamline analysis and client intake processes. More broadly, the program equipped me with a critical mindset for responsibly and effectively integrating AI into legal practice.
What do you think about UC Law SF’s tech law curriculum?
I commend UC Law for being proactive in preparing students to understand and adeptly use AI—an area where many current practitioners are still gaining familiarity. Professors Dolan and Villa demonstrated extraordinary engagement and expertise, providing real-world insights throughout the course.
I would also like to acknowledge Professor Drew Amerson, whose leadership has greatly enhanced my experience. Through his course on Building a Legal Startup, I developed my first AI product. With his encouragement and the assistance of AI tools, I transitioned from having minimal programming skills to creating full websites and applications. His mentorship has been invaluable in motivating me to continue developing projects like PromptCounsel and to innovate within the legal field.
The Ready for Tomorrow series showcases UC Law SF students as they highlight how the College’s innovative, hands-on programs equip them for a profession rapidly evolving due to AI and emerging technologies.
