Law School AI Policies: What You Can (and Can't) Use AI For
The complete guide to AI policies for law school applications in 2026. LSAC guidance, school-by-school rules, and practical advice for pre-law applicants.
The Bottom Line
The AI policy landscape for law school applications is fragmented. LSAC has not issued a blanket prohibition, leaving each school to set its own rules. Of the 89 law schools we track, 37 have an explicit AI policy at the institution or law-school level. The rest (52 schools) have no stated AI policy for admissions and effectively defer to LSAC and general academic integrity standards. Among schools with explicit policies, the trend is toward restriction: most prohibit AI-generated content while a handful permit brainstorming and proofreading only.
What LSAC Says About AI
All ABA-accredited law schools use the LSAC Credential Assembly Service (CAS) for applications.
LSAC has not issued a blanket prohibition on AI use in law school applications. In a 2023 blog post, LSAC acknowledged that banning ChatGPT from personal statements would be "challenging to enforce and justify." Instead, LSAC positions the proctored LSAT Writing sample as the primary mechanism for verifying an applicant's authentic writing ability. LSAC evaluated AI detection tools but found them insufficiently reliable for high-stakes admissions use. Individual law schools set their own policies on AI use in application essays through the CAS platform.
“Personal statements written without such assistance tend to feel more authentic, and this authenticity could influence admissions decisions.”
How to Read These Policies
We classify each school's AI policy across three independent dimensions. Learn more about our methodology.
L = Permission Level
- L0 No explicit policy
- L2 Line-level editing allowed
- L3 Brainstorming only
- L4 AI use prohibited
D = Disclosure
- D0 No disclosure required
- D1 Optional disclosure
- D2 Must disclose AI use
- D3 Must attest no AI used
E = Enforcement
- E0 No enforcement stated
- E1 Manual review possible
- E2 Uses screening tools
- E3 Formal verification
School-by-School Policies
AI policies for 89 law schools in our database. Each school name links to its full policy detail page.
| School | Platform | Institution Policy | Law-Specific Policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State UniversitySandra Day O'Connor College of Law | LSAC CAS | L0D0E0 | L1D0E0 |
| Baylor UniversityBaylor Law School (JD) | LSAC CAS | L0D0E0 | L4D0E0 |
| Boston College | LSAC CAS | L2D0E0 | — |
| Boston University | LSAC CAS | L2D0E1 | — |
| Brigham Young University | LSAC CAS | L4D3E2 | — |
| Brown University | LSAC CAS | L4D3E1 | — |
| Case Western Reserve University | LSAC CAS | L0D0E0 | — |
| Columbia UniversityColumbia Law School (JD, LLM, JSD) | LSAC CAS | L2D0E0 | L4D3E2 |
| Cornell University | LSAC CAS | L3D0E1 | — |
| Creighton University | LSAC CAS | L0D0E0 | — |
| Drexel University | LSAC CAS | L0D0E0 | — |
| Duke UniversityDuke Law School (JD) | LSAC CAS | L1D0E0 | L4D3E0 |
| Elon University | LSAC CAS | L0D0E0 | — |
| Emory University | LSAC CAS | L2D0E1 | — |
| Florida International University | LSAC CAS | L0D0E0 | — |
| Florida State University | LSAC CAS | L0D0E0 | — |
| Fordham University | LSAC CAS | L2D0E1 | — |
| George Mason University | LSAC CAS | L0D0E0 | — |
| George Washington University | LSAC CAS | L0D0E0 | — |
| Georgetown UniversityLaw School (J.D. Admissions) | LSAC CAS | L4D3E2 | L3D0E1 |
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Baylor Law School (JD)
Columbia Law School (JD, LLM, JSD)
Duke Law School (JD)
Law School (J.D. Admissions)
Schools With Notable Law AI Policies
These schools have clear, public guidance on AI use in law school application essays.
“submitting plagiarized essays or...the substantive content or output of an artificial intelligence platform, technology, or algorithm”
- •Institution-wide L4 policy prohibits submitting "substantive content or output of an artificial intelligence platform"
- •Applies across undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools including HLS
- •Requires applicants to attest that work is solely their own (D3)
Law School (J.D. Admissions)
“the only person who may be engaged in the actual writing is you”
- •Law school FAQ states: "the only person who may be engaged in the actual writing is you"
- •Explicitly names AI alongside "friends, family members, advisors" as prohibited writers
- •Permits AI for feedback and brainstorming, but not for generating any text (L3)
“Submitting the substantive content or output of an artificial intelligence platform, technology, or algorithm constitutes application fraud.”
- •Institution-level policy calls AI-generated content "application fraud"
- •Permits grammar/spelling checks and early-stage topic brainstorming
- •Consequences include admission revocation or expulsion
Practical Guide: Using AI in Your Law School Application
Section-by-section guidance on what's allowed and what's not, based on school policies and LSAC guidance.
Personal Statement (LSAC CAS)
Your personal statement is the centerpiece of your law school application. Most law schools ask for a two-page narrative that reveals your voice, reasoning ability, and motivation for pursuing law. Admissions committees read thousands of these essays and can often detect AI-generated prose by its generic tone and lack of specific personal detail.
What you can do
- ✓Use AI to brainstorm essay topics or organize your thoughts before writing
- ✓Ask AI to check grammar, spelling, and punctuation after you have a complete draft
- ✓Use AI to identify unclear sentences or awkward phrasing in your own writing
- ✓Run your draft through AI for a "reader perspective" on structure and flow
What you should avoid
- ✗Have AI generate your essay draft, outline, or any paragraphs
- ✗Copy-paste AI-generated text into your personal statement
- ✗Ask AI to "improve," "rewrite," or "polish" entire sections of your essay
- ✗Use AI to generate a personal narrative or anecdotes you did not experience
Diversity Statements
Many law schools invite an optional diversity statement. This essay asks you to reflect on how your background, identity, or experiences will contribute to the intellectual life of the law school. Because it is deeply personal, authenticity is paramount.
What you can do
- ✓Use AI to understand what diversity statements typically cover
- ✓Ask AI for feedback on whether your draft addresses the prompt clearly
- ✓Use AI to proofread for grammar and spelling after you have written your draft
What you should avoid
- ✗Have AI draft a diversity statement for you — admissions readers expect a deeply personal voice
- ✗Use AI to fabricate or embellish experiences related to diversity
- ✗Ask AI to "make this more compelling" — it will strip away your authentic voice
"Why X School" Essays
School-specific supplemental essays ask why you want to attend a particular law school. Because these are tailored to each school, generic AI responses are especially easy to spot and particularly damaging.
What you can do
- ✓Use AI to research a school's clinics, journals, faculty, and programs
- ✓Ask AI to proofread your draft for typos before submission
- ✓Use AI to verify you are answering the actual prompt
What you should avoid
- ✗Use AI to draft "Why this school?" essays — they will sound generic
- ✗Reuse AI-generated supplemental content across different schools
- ✗Have AI summarize a school's programs for you to paste into your essay
Character & Fitness Addenda
Character and fitness disclosures (academic misconduct, criminal history, etc.) require careful factual accuracy and appropriate tone. Misstatements in these addenda can follow you to bar admission. This is one area where AI assistance carries particular risk.
What you can do
- ✓Use AI to check that your addendum is clear, concise, and factually consistent
- ✓Ask AI about general best practices for structuring a C&F addendum
- ✓Use AI to proofread for grammar after you have written your disclosure
What you should avoid
- ✗Have AI draft your C&F addendum — inaccurate or fabricated details can be grounds for bar denial
- ✗Use AI to minimize, reframe, or spin the facts of a disclosure
- ✗Rely on AI for legal advice about what must be disclosed