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15 April 2026 (New York, NY) - The University of Michigan Law School has announced it launched an AI Advisory Council this month as it continues to grow its legal artificial intelligence offerings. Michigan Law joins several other law schools this year (15 at last count) in spearheading AI-focused initiatives. The school previously introduced:
- an AI and law course
- a clinical initiative exploring access to justice opportunities
- an AI sandbox that allows students to work directly with related tools
Michigan Law announced the council on April 2nd, and it recently convened for its inaugural meeting. The group is designed to strategically guide the schools' approach to AI:
"The legal profession is being reshaped in real time by advances in AI. Our responsibility is to prepare students not only to understand these tools but to use them thoughtfully and ethically in service of clients and the rule of law. The AI Advisory Council brings together an extraordinary group of leaders whose insights will help ensure that Michigan Law remains both forward-looking and grounded in the core values of the profession".
The council is made up of several alum and is chaired by Mary E. Snapp, senior fellow with Microsoft's corporate external and legal affairs. Other members include leaders at Vista Equity Partners, Google, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, American Arbitration Association, Sidley Austin LLP, HaystackID LLC, DocuSign Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Ford Motor Company.
Note to readers: yesterday, legal technology vendor Relativity announced that Relativity will partner with Wickard.ai to bring hands-on legal AI training to U.S. law schools. The story was covered by our industry colleague Doug Austin in his post here.
Michigan Law indicated that this move ensures that lawyers are equipped to use AI tools to better serve their clients, and the program will:
- acknowledge that lawyers have the responsibility to question these AI tools, and not accept them at face value
- improve them when possible
- understand the limits of AI tools
The school noted this can only be done in collaboration with major corporations, major law firms, legal technology vendors, and professional organizations such as the American Arbitration Association.
Several schools have moved beyond elective courses to create dedicated certificates or mandatory training:
- Mandatory AI Certification: Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Mississippi College School of Law are among the first to require AI certification for all first-year students.
- Specialized Degree Programs: UC Berkeley School of Law and Arizona State University (ASU) have launched special certificate programs and degrees focused specifically on AI law and regulation.
- Course Density: Suffolk University Law School is cited as having a high volume of AI-related offerings, including seven distinct courses.
- Innovative Centers: The University of San Francisco (USF) has embedded AI instruction into required introductory legal writing and research courses through its LexLab.
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