Date/Time
Date(s) - Wed 22 July
17:30 - 18:30
Location
Lecture Theatre One (GBLT1), Old Government Buildings, VUW
Explore research on generative AI in legal practice, revealing when AI sharpens (or undermines) legal reasoning and what it means for the future of law.
The 2026 Ian Borrin Lecture will be delivered by Professor Daniel Schwarcz, the Fredrikson & Byron Professor of Law, and a Distinguished University Teaching Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School.
Generative AI is transforming legal practice, but surprisingly little rigorous evidence exists about its actual effects on legal reasoning and performance. Drawing on cutting-edge randomized trials and benchmarking studies, this talk separates signal from speculation, revealing when AI sharpens analysis, when it subtly degrades it, and why the results often defy intuition. It offers an evidence-driven lens on how AI is likely to reshape the craft of law, along with concrete guidance on how lawyers, judges, and law students can adapt their work in response.
About Professor Schwarcz
Professor Daniel Schwarcz teaches and writes in insurance law, financial regulation, consumer protection, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in legal practice and education. His scholarship has appeared in leading law reviews and peer-reviewed journals, and has earned national recognition, including the American Law Institute’s Early Career Scholars Medal.
A leading authority on insurance law and a prominent voice on AI’s impact on the legal system, he is co-author of Insurance Law and Regulation: Cases and Materials, widely used in law schools across the United States, and his work has been featured in major media outlets and policy debates. An award-winning teacher, he has received multiple university-wide and law school teaching honors and regularly engages with courts, regulators, and industry as a scholar, expert, and advisor.