To help their colleagues across the nation navigate the evolving role of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in legal education, LSU Law professors Will Monroe and Tracy Norton have launched The Law Profs’ AI Sandbox, a comprehensive online resource offering tutorials and encouraging exploration of AI in the classroom.
Launched in late January, the sandbox is more than a year in the making. It’s designed to assist legal educators at all levels of familiarity with AI, from those who have never even used a generative AI tool to those who are already building their own bots.
“There’s a lot of pressure right now for law professors to commit to using AI,” said Norton, who has studied law practice and educational technology for more than 25 years. “What we’ve created is a space in which law professors can explore what’s available, but not necessarily feel pressured to implement anything. We wanted a space online where everybody can bring their curiosity to play.”
For professors who are ready to use AI to enhance their classroom instruction and support student success, The Law Profs’ AI Sandbox offers tailored guides on best practices for incorporating it into class preparation, exam writing, and curriculum development, among other topics.
The sandbox also provides resources for developing thoughtful AI use policies, tips for managing the mental and emotional impact of AI adoption, ideas for leveraging AI to make academic tasks more efficient, and links to external AI tools, articles, and insights.
Norton, Monroe, and former LSU Law Professor Susan Tanner received a $5,000 grant from the Association of Legal Writing Directors in 2023 to develop a comprehensive virtual resource to help law professors embrace generative AI and explore ways it can enhance their academic experience and student outcomes. Tanner has since joined the faculty of the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, but she continues to collaborate with Norton and Monroe on the sandbox.
Although the project began as a “toolkit,” the professors later decided to call it a “sandbox” to better reflect their vision for the final product: A space for exploration and creativity.
“Playing and engaging with these different technologies is something that really helps you to uncover how it can be useful to you,” said Monroe, who serves as Assistant Director for Instructional Technology at LSU Law. “Calling something that is constantly changing a ‘toolkit,’ felt too restrictive.”
For Norton, AI’s greatest potential lies in freeing up time for deeper relationship building between students and faculty.
“This is an incredible opportunity to get back to pen and paper lawyering and to have conversations that we don’t have time for because we’ve got so many mundane tasks that need to be done,” said Norton.
Beyond legal education, AI is already shaping law practice itself. LSU Law students are already gaining hands-on experience with AI thanks to courses like Law Practice Technology and Advanced Legal Research. This semester, Monroe launched a new course, Legal Analytics & Generative AI for Lawyers, where students practice using AI in real-world scenarios.
“It’s particularly forward thinking for a law school,” said Norton, noting very few law schools offer the range of law technology courses that LSU Law currently does. “It’s not even the same course every time they teach it. They use the latest technology every single time.”
The Law Profs’ AI Sandbox will be updated in the future with lesson plans, ethical guidelines, insights from law professors on their use of AI, and materials to help students use the technology responsibly.
Norton added that she could envision different iterations of the sandbox being created for other higher education professionals or law practitioners. This idea was a key topic of discussion at the Women in AI Summit, held at Vanderbilt University School of Law on Feb. 1, where Norton joined Tanner and LSU Law Professor and Librarian Aimee Self Pittman in exploring AI’s broader implications.
Ultimately, Monroe said the goal is to see The Law Profs’ AI Sandbox become more than just an online resource, but a community fostering collaboration and innovation.
“Sharing things constantly between your colleagues and friends, that’s a really good place to be rather than by yourself trying to figure it out,” he said.
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