Jacob Lee, Mackenzie Berwick, and Joanna Zhang

Leading in AI Initiative

About the Leading in AI Initiative

Three Columbia Law students—Mackenzie Berwick ’28, Jacob Lee ’27, and Joanna Zhang ’28—founded the Leading in AI Initiative to address a critical gap in legal education: many law students enter the profession without structured engagement with AI’s transformative impact. The initiative aims to equip Columbia Law students with fluency in AI, ethical grounding, and leadership skills to navigate AI-driven disruption and develop models of good governance. It advances urgent conversations about AI in the legal profession while promoting adaptability, collaboration, and resilience across the Columbia community and reinforcing the Law School’s position as a global leader.

AI Survey and Report

In Fall 2025, the Leading in AI Initiative partnered with the Columbia Law School Student Senate to design and administer the 2025–2026 AI Exposure, Experience, and Perspectives Survey as an initial step toward understanding the Columbia Law community’s perceptions of and engagement with AI tools.

Responses reflect a broad spectrum of experiences, from daily AI users to those who have never engaged with such tools. Across this range, respondents expressed a mix of enthusiasm, caution, and concern. The findings highlight strong interest in structured institutional guidance, broad agreement on the need for responsible integration, and persistent anxieties regarding accuracy, ethics, and the future of legal work.

View the 2025–2026 Annual Report, AI Exposure, Experience, and Attitudes at Columbia Law School, below.

 Leading in AI 2025-26 Report