With questions mounting over whether law schools are keeping pace with the fast-changing world of legal practice, four of Australia’s top universities are determined to prove they are – unveiling bold plans to future-proof their students for the profession ahead.
As artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies reshape what it means to practise law, the legal profession is undergoing a fundamental transformation unlike anything seen before.
This shift has sparked intense discussion among law students, many of whom are asking whether today’s law degrees genuinely equip them for the realities of modern legal practice and the fast-changing world they are about to enter.
Law students nationwide told Lawyers Weekly recently that today’s law degrees are missing key elements necessary for success in the modern legal profession.
Many programs struggle to connect theory with real-world practice, overlook essential soft skills, and rely on outdated content, leaving graduates underprepared for a legal landscape increasingly shaped by technology, digital innovation, and AI-driven change.
With these challenges coming to the forefront of the legal conversation, four of Australia’s leading universities have revealed how they plan to respond to student concerns, outlining strategies designed to equip the next generation of lawyers with the tools and experience needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving legal environment.
Legal education reinvented for the AI and tech-driven future
With AI and cutting-edge technologies transforming the legal landscape, Australian law schools are adapting and updating their programs to equip students for the realities of contemporary practice.
At the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Associate Professor Maxine Evers explained that the law curriculum and co-curricular programs are designed to allow students to “learn about, and experience, the impact of technology on legal practice and the practice of law”.
Specifically, she noted that exposure to technology is embedded throughout UTS’s Priestley subjects, including Civil Practice, Administrative Law, and Evidence.
More recently, UTS introduced the Legal Futures and Technology major in 2018, which Evers explained “recognises that increasingly, clients are demanding more than traditional knowledge and skills from lawyers”.
At Monash University, Professor Steven Vaughan echoed this perspective, emphasising that the law faculty recognises the importance of “preparing our students for changes in the legal market and beyond”.
To achieve this, Vaughan explained that Monash’s courses are designed to reflect the realities of modern legal practice by integrating AI and technology throughout the law degree, not just as subjects of study but also as tools for learning.
“The use of AI and other forms of technology is included across units in the law degree, both as a learning tool and to understand its impact in the changing legal and other fields our students will be working in,” Vaughan said.
“This includes considering the legal implications of AI, its potential for bias, injustice and disruption, and technology regulation through the evolution of existing institutions and rules.”
“We also teach a number of specialised coursework electives focused on AI and law, both in theory and in practice. This includes AI for Lawyers: Practical Applications and Theory; Law in the Age of AI, and Regulating Artificial Intelligence, Technology and Cyberspace.”
The University of Sydney announced that a comprehensive review of the bachelor of laws and juris doctor curricula between 2022 and 2024 resulted in a refined 2025 curriculum that balances traditional legal rigour with digital readiness.
“An important element of this curriculum was the redoubling of our commitment, and refreshing our approach, to supporting students to develop fundamental legal, analytical, critical thinking, and communication skills, alongside ‘soft’ skills of collaboration and teamwork,” said the University of Sydney.
The university explained that it is actively exploring and implementing initiatives to ensure students develop the technological skills essential for modern legal practice.
One of the University of Sydney’s key initiatives has been “negotiation with a number of legal tech and legal AI vendors with a view to providing educational licenses to staff and students, to help level the playing field among students and ensure that they don’t have to depend on paid subscriptions to acquire facility with relevant technology”.
Embedding practical experience
As automation transforms the legal profession, law students are increasingly demanding hands-on experience – skills that law firms highly value and expect from new graduates.
In response, Australia’s law schools are reimagining their programs, placing practical experience at the forefront to ensure students graduate work-ready and confident as they step into the modern legal workforce.
The University of Sydney explained that practical learning takes a more traditional yet equally rigorous form, with law students gaining hands-on experience through a variety of clinical and experiential learning units.
During these units, the university explained, students can earn academic credit by contributing a minimum of 70 hours in community legal centres or social justice legal practices, complemented by 20 hours of related classroom instruction.
The University of Sydney also revealed that the school is currently “conducting a feasibility study examining several possible models for scaling up these opportunities”.
Similarly, Monash University Law integrates practical experience throughout its curriculum via the Clinical Guarantee, which Vaughan describes as “the first of its kind in Australia”.
“This guarantee ensures that all undergraduate law and JD students will have the opportunity to participate in clinical legal education, gaining hands-on experience while grappling with real-world legal challenges. This includes industry placements and Monash’s own clinics,” Vaughan said.
Through this initiative, Vaughan highlighted that over the past five decades, more than 3,000 Monash law students have directly assisted over 40,000 clients through university-run clinics and hands-on placements.
Professor Belinda Bennett, head of school and dean of law and justice at the University of Newcastle, emphasised that practical experience lies at the heart of the university’s legal education, with each student completing an impressive 285 hours of hands-on legal work over the course of their studies.
“Practical experience is key to our legal education approach. Every student in the Diploma of Legal Practice program completes 285 hours of legal work, including placement at the university’s Legal Centre, which supports more than 1,000 clients annually,” Bennett said.
“In their final year, students undertake external placements within these 285 hours as part of their Practical Legal Training.
“These experiences provide students with invaluable opportunities to work with real clients, research legal issues, and collaborate with solicitors to deliver tailored legal advice – all critical skills to producing work-ready graduates.”
Evers explained that, as a “practice-based university”, UTS provides students with real-world immersions, with “work-integrated learning” forming a central focus of both the university and the faculty’s teaching philosophy.
Evers highlighted that, through partnerships with external agencies, UTS students have the opportunity to undertake internships with both local and international organisations, gaining meaningful, hands-on legal experience.
“Students may undertake an internship at a diverse range of local and international organisations. Some internships are with organisations that use technology in significant ways, including a Law Tech Clinic and a legal start-up,” Evers said.
“Students can complete electives that include partnerships with the Refugee Advice & Casework Service, Indigenous Strategic Litigation team at Jumbunna, pro bono teams in law firms, corporations and community legal centres.”
Adapting law degrees as the profession transforms
With the legal profession evolving rapidly in recent years, universities must work proactively to ensure their teaching keeps pace with the changing landscape and prepares students for the realities of modern practice.
Vaughan explained that at Monash University, “constantly innovating and adapting in our research and teaching” is a core priority, ensuring students are fully prepared to enter the legal profession with the skills and tools to succeed.
At UTS, Evers revealed that courses are “reviewed annually” as part of a continuous improvement process, with subjects updated each teaching session in response to student feedback and external developments.
“Recent examples of review and revitalisation in response to external factors include: embedding of the Supreme Court practice note on AI in civil practice within a broader discussion of the impact of technology on litigation and lawyers’ duties and reference to the impact of technology in evidence,” Evers said.
Professor Belinda Bennett revealed that the University of Newcastle regularly reviews its law programs to ensure students receive “relevant and contemporary content”, preparing them thoroughly for the workforce.
“Our programs undergo regular internal and external reviews to make sure our courses align with Priestley requirements, ensuring relevant and contemporary content, an appropriate structure, and logical sequencing,” Bennett said.
“As part of our current internal curriculum review process, we are consulting broadly with key stakeholders, including students, alumni, employers, First Nations groups, School of Law and Justice Advisory Board, and community group to seek feedback and advice on our programs.
“These efforts ensure our programs remain contemporary, rigorous, and responsive to industry needs, preparing our graduates to enter the workforce with the practical skills and insight needed to contribute meaningfully to the future of law.”
The University of Sydney follows a similarly rigorous review process to ensure students receive the most current and relevant education.
They explained that the faculty regularly “review and refine the units of study they teach in response to analysis of student survey results”, and it is expected for staff to “update their syllabi and teaching materials before the start of every semester in which the unit is taught”.
To maintain this momentum, the University of Sydney revealed that they have recently launched a Strategic Advisory Council, composed of leaders from across the legal profession, to provide candid feedback on how effectively the curriculum aligns with industry needs.
“We recently established a new Strategic Advisory Council, which will meet for the first time in early 2026,” said the University of Sydney.
“Members of this council have agreed to offer us candid feedback on our delivery on community expectations and provide independent counsel on local, national, and global trends that bear upon the current and future success of our students, graduates, and alumni.
“This council is made up of thought leaders, at different career stages, from diverse fields of practice that legally educated people help to shape, within and beyond the legal profession.”
What’s next to come?
While these universities have already rolled out significant initiatives, they are now looking ahead, revealing plans for the coming years to further evolve their programs and ensure students stay ahead of the curve.
At UTS, Evers revealed that next year, the law faculty will launch “AI training courses” for students, designed to help them understand “how to use AI responsibly and to experience the practical application of AI in legal practice”.
The University of Sydney revealed that in 2026, the Law School will launch a Student Engagement Unit – a two-year pilot aimed at boosting peer-to-peer learning, supporting student wellbeing, and fostering a stronger sense of community within the faculty.
“In first semester of 2026, we are introducing a new Student Engagement Unit in the Law School (for an initial trial period of two years) to expand the range of support, peer-to-peer learning and engagement opportunities that we offer students, and to help foster a greater sense of connection, belonging and resilience among our students,” the university said.
“We regard this as crucial to equipping students to face a rapidly changing and sometimes challenging legal, social, and economic environment with courage and optimism.”
