UC Berkeley to Offer Advanced Law Degree With Specific AI Focus

One of the country’s top law schools said this week it will offer an advanced law degree with a specific focus on artificial intelligence.

University of California’s Berkeley School of Law will begin offering an AI-focused master of laws degree, or LLM, beginning the summer of 2025. The program was developed in consultation with an advisory group of industry leaders including those from Meta Platforms Inc. and Anthropic, two companies that are influential players in the emerging AI industry.

The offering comes as law schools across the country amp up their AI offerings.

The American Bar Association found in a survey released in June that more than half of law schools now offer classes teaching students about AI. “Moreover, an overwhelming majority (83%) reported the availability of curricular opportunities, including clinics, where students can learn how to use AI tools effectively,” according to the survey, completed by 29 law school deans or faculty members.

Berkeley called its new program “the first-ever law degree with a focus on artificial intelligence.”

“The new degree program is ideal for both international legal practitioners and U.S. attorneys seeking to future-proof their practice,” said Adam Sterling, an assistant dean at Berkeley Law. “Students will learn from faculty, practitioner-lecturers, and guest speakers on topics such as AI ethics, the fundamentals of AI technology, and current and future efforts to regulate AI, including a focus on the EU AI Act.”

Berkeley is currently taking applications. The program can be completed over two summers or over a year by working remotely in combination with a summer on the campus, the school said.

One Berkeley class that will be taught by professor Colleen V. Chien will focus on how AI is transforming the legal practice and how the technology can be used to increase or decrease existing inequalities.

“Examining a variety of governance tools, including court adjudication, legislation, regulatory frameworks, industry standards, and best practices, this course will dive deeply into the intersections of AI and human rights, civil liberties, privacy, IP, consumer protection, employment, and other laws,” Chien said.