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Generative AI for Legal Services Primer

Vanderbilt University via Coursera

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Details

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Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Paid Course
Languages

English
Certificate

Certificate Available
Effort

5 hours 12 minutes
Sessions

Self-Paced
Level

Beginner
Subtitles

English

Found in

Part of

Prompt Engineering for Law

Overview

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This course covers what Generative AI is and its applications to a variety of tasks in the legal field. The course will cover ethics and privacy, basic prompt engineering strategies for legal use cases, and how to leverage Generative AI to augment your legal expertise. This is a rapidly advancing area and a primary goal of this course is to prepare everyone for the pace of change that is taking place and to develop a mindset of continuous curiosity that will enable lawyers to adapt along with the technology

Syllabus

Introduction to Generative AI in Legal Services

This module introduces the fundamentals of Generative AI, including how it works, the mindset needed to work effectively with AI tools, and their emerging applications in legal practice. Learners will explore key opportunities, limitations, ethical considerations, and the potential of AI to augment legal work while developing an understanding of the rapid pace of change in this field.

Prompting Strategies and Practical Applications

In this module, you will move from understanding generative AI to using it effectively. You will learn foundational prompting techniques, including persona prompts, few-shot prompting, and flipped interaction prompts, and explore how these strategies can improve the quality and usefulness of AI-generated outputs. You will also examine the types of tasks large language models perform well—and where they continue to have limitations. Through legal-specific examples and hands-on practice, you will develop the skills needed to use generative AI as a practical tool for drafting, analysis, brainstorming, and other legal workflows while maintaining appropriate professional judgment.

Ethics, Governance, and the Future of AI in Legal Practice

In this module, you will examine the broader implications of generative AI for the legal profession. You will explore lawyers' ethical and professional responsibilities when using AI, including issues of competence, confidentiality, supervision, and responsible use. The module also considers how AI is reshaping legal practice, the role of enterprise and legal-specific AI tools, and the continued importance of legal research databases. Finally, you will evaluate common questions about the future of legal work, including whether AI will replace lawyers, and consider emerging trends that are likely to shape the next generation of legal services.