Creating ‘bilingual’ thinkers: legal education in a tech-driven world
“None of the challenges presented by new technologies can be answered by one discipline alone,” says Professor Rebecca Williams, reflecting on six years of Oxford’s pioneering Law and Computer Science course for taught master’s students.
Learning together in Law and Computer Science
Long before the current surge of interest in AI and law, Professor Williams and colleagues in the Faculty of Law, and Professor Tom Melham of the Department of Computer Science, were considering how legal education should respond to rapid technological change. This work is transforming the way Law students understand the digital systems shaping modern law. It is also ensuring Computer Science students understand the potential legal consequences of their software design choices.
“Oxford has been at the forefront of this area,” says Professor Williams, a specialist in public and criminal law whose research interests have increasingly moved towards the legal implications of technological development. “Our starting point was the idea that students in Computer Science and Law – the people who will make and regulate these technologies – need to learn together, rather than in isolation.”
The co-taught course brings together equal numbers of Law and Computer Science students, who attend the same classes and collaborate on practical projects designed to produce technological solutions to real-world problems. “We put the students into groups of eight and say, ‘build us something innovative using blockchain or AI’,” explains Professor Williams. “They completely surpassed our expectations from the beginning, and each year the projects grow more ambitious. Many students tell us they understand their own discipline better having seen it through the eyes of others.”
A new MSc in Law, Governance and AI
The success of this joint course has paved the way for a new interdisciplinary MSc in Law, Governance and AI at Oxford, being developed between the Faculty of Law and the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR). The degree is scheduled to begin taking applications next year for 2027/28 entry and will partner closely with DPIR’s new Centre for Advanced Social Science Methods, which embeds computer scientists in social science research. The programme will train the next generation of leaders to navigate the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of technology, law and politics.
Helping practising lawyers hone their knowledge
Professor Williams and her colleagues in Computer Science have also sought to extend Oxford’s expertise beyond the University, ensuring practising lawyers as well as students can benefit from high-quality education provision and engage with fast-moving technological developments. OLTEP – the Oxford LawTech Education Programme – was initially developed during the UKRI-funded, Oxford-led ‘Unlocking the Potential of AI for English Law’ project, which was followed by Impact Acceleration Account funding.
A cross-disciplinary philosophy
At the heart of all this work is a commitment to creating what Professor Williams describes as “bilingualism” between disciplines. “We’re not going to teach Law students or legal professionals how to code,” she says.
But we’re going to make sure you can have intelligent and productive conversations with computer scientists, and that you understand the technologies that are having such a big impact on law and society.
That philosophy underpins Oxford’s growing ecosystem of law-and-technology teaching, from student courses to professional development. For Professor Williams, the goal is not simply to help law keep pace with technology, but to shape a generation who can co-design the systems and regulations of the future.