The University of Miami School of Law is known for innovation. As a leader in AI, it launched one of the first AI & Law Labs in 2024, built one of the most robust transactional skill programs in the U.S., taught IP law through the lens of Taylor Swift, rolled out one of the first courses on NFTs, and inaugurated the AI and Law Society this fall.
To continue to attract a student body poised to harness offerings to prepare them to meet the demand for the future of lawyering, the school seeks talented students with strong analytical skills. In order to assess prospective students’ abilities to leverage generative AI tools strategically and thoughtfully, the Office of Admissions has added an optional AI prompt question on the admissions application starting this fall.
Goal to assess critical thinking, not AI usage
Some law schools have incorporated AI into their applications and ask prospective students about their AI usage and how they see it impacting the field of law. Miami Law’s new question will shed light on students’ analytical skills and how they think.
The School of Law already knows students know how to use generative AI. What the new question wants to see is how they break down their thinking into prompts to get the best answer out of AI.
“The admissions committee is looking forward to seeing how students strategize to best utilize 500 words or fewer to design prompts that will help us get a sense of the analytical skills in the incoming class,” said Katrin Hussmann Schroll, Associate Dean of Enrollment Management, Integrated Marketing, and Data Analytics.
She adds, “Just like the first steps to start thinking like a lawyer, we look for submissions that demonstrate how an applicant approaches an issue or problem. Ultimately, the question is designed to capture the essence of asking the right questions and using AI tools to achieve the best possible outcomes.”
On the cutting-edge of AI to prepare students for today’s legal marketplace
It is known that practitioners increasingly collaborate with AI tools to enhance research, analysis, and decision-making. To prepare students for today’s legal landscape, Interim Dean Patricia Sanchez Abril is helping position Miami Law as a leader in this space.
She launched the Miami Law & AI Lab (MiLA) in 2024, which is redefining the way legal professionals and students interact with technology and creating innovative tools and training programs to redefine the future of law. MiLA has developed several tools, like ClassInsight, recently shortlisted for an award for the 2025 AIREA International Competition on Artificial Intelligence in Education. It also hosted the groundbreaking Prompting Legal Solutions Competition and Conference in 2025.
“Through the AI & Law Lab, we're helping future attorneys gain an advantage by understanding how to use AI in legal practice—both effectively and ethically. This admissions prompt will help bring in a cohort of students ready to train in the best uses of AI for the legal profession,” said Abril, who is also an expert in business and technology law with a prolific publishing record that includes articles on AI-related topics in top-tier legal journals including Northwestern’s Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property and Yale Journal of Law and Technology.
The Prompt
Aside from wanting to partially understand students’ skill level with AI, the cutting-edge prompt will show students’ reasoning skills behind their answers.
The prompt says, “Draft a detailed prompt for a Large Language Model to generate a comprehensive analysis that will help you make an informed decision about which law school to attend. Your prompt should be specific enough to provide actionable insights while thoughtfully considering the most important factors in this decision.
Additionally, provide 3-5 follow-up prompts that anticipate the AI responses and allow you to explore your options on a deeper level. These follow-up prompts should provide you with more detailed and specific information about each of your choices. Consider the order of the prompts as you feed them into the generative AI.”
According to the 2024 edition of the American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Survey Report, there has been a significant increase in the adoption of artificial intelligence-based tools among law firms, with 30% of respondents now using AI technology compared to just 11% in 2023. With the AI prompt and AI programming, Miami Law’s incoming and current students will be ready to utilize AI in this new legal ecosystem.
Read more about Miami Law’s technology law area of study.
