The most frequent question I am asked by alumni these days is a version of “What is the law school doing about AI?” As much as I try to be brief, my response tends to be long, because AI is a dynamic, complex, and transformative phenomenon that enters into our work and daily life in myriad ways. Our scholars are using AI agents in their research and scholarship; they also apply their expertise to assess the impact of AI on our society and critically examine the policy questions it raises. Our faculty members are increasingly aided by AI in teaching, and students are using it to learn. And, observing the rapidly growing use of AI in the profession, our researchers are building AI tools and examining their effectiveness in legal practice, and we’re teaching our students how to be proficient and responsible in their use of AI. This entire issue could be devoted to AI-related research, teaching, and learning at the law school, but the feature article offers a partial look for now.

Further, it seems appropriate that AI not consume the entire issue because we continue to excel and improve in delivering training in skills that will be essential for attorneys in the foreseeable future: doctrinal analysis, critical thinking, problem solving, communication and persuasion, and negotiation and collaboration, to name a few. These proficiencies are built, for example, in the experiential client engagement that our students gain in the Mills Legal Clinic and in the Law and Policy Lab. While AI may well augment lawyers’ performance, these features will continue to distinguish the great practitioners in the profession and elsewhere.

While most of our graduates begin their careers at law firms, many go on to extraordinary accomplishments in a wide range of fields. In this issue, we also hear from Michael Strauss, general counsel of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Krista Whitaker, Mari Guttman, and Kaleisha Stuart—Class of 2015 friends who shared a passion for sports and are now top lawyers for professional teams; and Marshall Goldberg, whose career has spanned the DOJ and Hollywood.

This issue also offers a glimpse of some recent faculty scholarship, including influential work by Mark Kelman, Jud Campbell, and Bill Gould. And we meet the newest members of our faculty: Tom Dannenbaum, Orin Kerr, Matthew Sanders, and Fred Smith.

And there’s much more. I hope you’ll read on. SL