Legal Research in the NextGen Era

Abstract

The NextGen Bar’s content scope areas have centered legal research as an analysis and strategy-focused discipline. This has provided an important opportunity for legal research instructors to openly position our subject matter as one grounded in critical thinking. In this time of explosive change around generative artificial intelligence (AI), where the temptation of ceding our choices to technology is ever-present, it is vital that we explicitly teach analysis as central to every stage of legal research. In this paper, the authors propose an evidence-based method of teaching legal research with critical analysis that is adaptable to any law school that will prepare students for the NextGen Bar and their greater careers.