The University of Chicago Law School announced this week that first-year students won't be allowed to use laptops, tablets, or phones in required classes starting this fall. The rule covers core subjects like contracts, torts, criminal law, and constitutional law.

School officials say they spent the last year talking to students, teachers, law firms, and tech companies about how to handle AI. The message they kept hearing was the same.

"We need to ensure that our students actually learn to think critically, strategically, and independently without relying on AI," the school said in its statement.

Why now

AI tools have become common in law schools. Some students use them to help write essays, summarize cases, or even think through arguments. Teachers worry that leaning on AI too early stops students from building real legal reasoning skills.

Dean Adam Chilton said he doesn't know of any other US law school that has banned laptops and phones across all required first-year classes.

He said the school isn't trying to pretend AI doesn't exist. Law firms already expect new hires to know how to use it. But he said students need to learn to think on their own first.

"We can't just naively try to pretend that you can turn off AI or that students won't use it," Chilton said.

How it will work

During class, students won't touch any electronic devices. Instead, professors can pick a few students each day to act as "scribes." Those students type up notes and share them with the rest of the class afterward.

Exams will also change. First-year tests will be done in person, with no internet access, no digital files, and no AI tools allowed.

Not a total ban

The school isn't cutting AI out of legal education completely. Students will still learn how to use it, just later.

In legal writing classes, students will first write documents the old-fashioned way. Once they've built that skill, they'll start using AI for research, revisions, and prepping for oral arguments. Their work will be reviewed afterward.

Upper-level students can also take AI-focused courses and use an AI lab set up by the school. They'll get access to legal AI tools already used in the industry.

Part of a bigger trend

Chicago isn't the only school wrestling with this problem. Business Insider reported that Brown University recently disciplined dozens of students for what it called a widespread AI-cheating scandal.

Other schools have taken different paths. UC Berkeley's law school adopted stricter rules, banning AI use for almost all graded work, including outlining, drafting, and editing. That policy sparked debate among legal educators.

Chicago's approach is more of a middle ground. Ban it early, then teach it carefully.

"No statement of an AI strategy or vision can be final," the school said. "Technology is changing too fast."