Published: December 2025

1. Introduction

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are changing how we think about writing in nearly every profession, including the legal field. For legal writing professors, this development presents both a challenge and an opportunity: how do we prepare students to write effectively in a world where AI can generate a full draft in seconds?

As early as two weeks into the fall semester, I already hear it. With a knowing look, some of my students announce that “1L is the time to grind it out,” while others proudly declare, “My well-being is really important to me, so I am OK with getting all Bs.” 

The legal writing class is the heart and soul of the first-year experience.  This is largely so because much of the vital work legal writing professors do is outside of the actual curriculum. In addition to teaching substantive legal writing skills, legal writing faculty also teach process-based skills—how to manage time, how to study effectively, how to maintain mental well-being, and how to begin to develop a professional identity.

1. Introduction

Recent revisions to ABA accreditation standards provide yet another exciting opportunity for faculty teaching lawyering skills[1] to position our courses as central to preparing students for excellence in professional practice, particularly in terms of offering opportunities for professional identity formation in the first-year curriculum.