Dharmita Prasad, a Research Associate working under the supervision of Professor Dr Ralf Michaels at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law , recently delivered two sessions at an AI tools workshop hosted by TU Dresden. The invitation followed our publication of a very popular news item in 2024, which featured her analysis of how AI tools can support legal research.
From News Item to Workshop Invitation
In the original news item, Dharmita examined several AI-driven platforms and their potential to assist legal scholars in navigating vast bodies of legal literature. She highlighted tools such as Semantic Scholar, Elicit, Consensus, Research Rabbit, and Connected Papers, outlining their ability to identify research gaps, summarize academic work, and map scholarly developments. The article also acknowledged the limitations of these tools, particularly regarding the need for human judgment in evaluating legal sources and contexts.
Following the publication, Dr Julia Möller-Klapperich from TU Dresden contacted Dharmita in August 2024, on behalf of Dr Anne Lauber-Rönsberg. They invited her to contribute to a seminar focused on integrating AI applications into academic writing. The seminar was designed to help students explore the role of AI tools in various stages of the research and writing process, from topic selection to structuring arguments and refining drafts. The organizers emphasized the importance of understanding the ethical considerations of using such tools in academic contexts.
The Workshop Sessions
Dharmita led two sessions as part of the seminar. The first, held on 4 November 2024, was titled Introduction to AI Writing Tools. This session provided an overview of how AI technologies function and explored their role in legal research and writing. Dharmita discussed the evolution of academic research methods, the integration of AI into these processes, and practical ways to use AI tools effectively. She introduced platforms designed for ideation, literature review, and data analysis, with a focus on how they can support, rather than replace, traditional research practices.
The second session, conducted on 18 November 2024, focused on Legal Prompting. In collaboration with Tobias Schreieder, a doctoral researcher at ScaDS.AI (TU Dresden), Dharmita addressed how legal researchers can formulate precise questions to obtain more relevant and accurate responses from AI tools. She highlighted the importance of clarity, specificity, and iterative refinement in crafting effective prompts. The session included practical exercises, allowing participants to apply these strategies in legal research scenarios.
Reflections and Ongoing Developments
Feedback from the workshop suggested that participants appreciated the introduction to AI tools that extended beyond traditional legal databases. Many found the sessions helpful in understanding not only the technical functions of these tools but also the critical mindset required to use them effectively.
Dharmita’s conclusions from the original news item remain valid: while AI tools can enhance the efficiency of legal research, they are not a substitute for analytical legal research skills. She has since explored additional tools that could complement those initially discussed, though her basic insights regarding the role of AI in legal research remain unchanged.