Generative artificial intelligence has proven to be a truly disruptive technology. In just a few short years, AI’s effects have been felt in every industry and across most professions. It has impacted financial markets, company structures and the way that work gets done.
The legal profession has not been immune from these effects, and the changes wrought by AI have been substantial. Long-standing pricing structures are being reconsidered, workflows are changing and some jobs are being replaced. In fact, according to the 8am 2026 Legal Industry Report, 21% of respondents think that AI adoption will cause a reduction in the number of junior associates over the next five years.
Filling the training gap
This role displacement presents a unique challenge for the profession. As AI absorbs routine work typically performed by recent law school graduates—such as document review, legal research and document drafting—the result is a gap in experiential learning. The typical pathways for legal training are disappearing, and the challenge then becomes finding ways to provide law students and entry-level attorneys with hands-on, practical skills.
The failure to do so will create a workforce devoid of experienced, young attorneys. Unless we begin to immediately address the emerging training problem, we’ll soon face a shortage of midlevel attorneys available for internal promotion or lateral hiring.
The solution will require the combined efforts of law schools and larger firms, both of which will need to institute training programs to ensure that law students and young lawyers obtain the necessary foundational legal skills. Ironically, AI may very well be the vehicle through which some of this training can be accomplished.
Choosing software for law firm and law school training
There are a number of different legal skills training programs available, some of which also incorporate AI or virtual reality capabilities. Many of these tools are intended for use in law firms, although they could also work well in law school classes designed to prepare students for legal practice.
There are quite a few to choose from, so ensuring that the tool works well for your intended setting is essential. Before selecting a tool, your first step is to identify the desired skill sets. The different programs are designed to focus on a variety of practice areas and job functions, so the parameters of each will necessarily determine which are best suited for your specific needs.
Once you’ve narrowed your options, the next task is to vet both the services provided and the technology provider. You’ll find most tools are cloud-based, meaning your firm’s data will be stored on third-party servers. To meet your ethical obligations, you’ll need to find out where the data will be stored, who will have access to it, how frequently it will be backed up, and the steps that will be taken to protect the data. Additionally, if the tool includes AI functionality, you should also ask about accuracy metrics; how client and firm data is protected; and whether any information entered into the system will be used for AI model training, among other issues.
Now that you understand the key vetting requirements, let’s review some of the available options. Pricing will be included if it is available on the company’s website.
Online legal skills training programs
First up is Courtroom View Network (CVN), an on-demand video library that provides access to real-world, unedited civil litigation footage from across the country. Users can watch seasoned lawyers deliver opening statements, examine witnesses, and make objections in live courtrooms. It includes searchable transcripts and case files alongside the video. Although CVN is primarily used by litigation law firms for trial preparation, it has applicability in law schools, offering students insights into trial strategy. Pricing starts at $99 per month.
Next is Hotshot, a digital learning platform that offers video-based training to improve skills in transactional law, litigation and legal technology. Built for junior attorneys, Hotshot pairs short video lessons with interactive exercises, outline summaries and document examples to help users master skills like contract drafting and deposition prep. It’s available to law firms for summer associate onboarding and is also used by law schools to integrate practical skills into their curriculum. Pricing starts at $99 per year for law students and $149 per year for lawyers.
Another option is rubi, a virtual apprenticeship platform targeted at law students, summer associates and junior lawyers. It is interactive and designed to teach the basics of transactional law through a simulated megadeal. Founded by former BigLaw M&A attorneys, rubi walks users step by step through a full transaction, teaching them how to review agreements, manage deal checklists and draft ancillary documents. Pricing starts at $750 for two years of access.
Finally, there is a similar open-source M&A negotiation tool available through a collaboration between Stanford Law’s CodeX and Flatiron Law Group. This free M&A Negotiation Simulator allows users to test negotiation strategies across different starting positions, shifting leverage dynamics and complex legal scenarios.
AI/VR legal skills training tools
Next up are the tools that incorporate AI or VR functionality into the learning platform. Pricing is not available on the websites of any of these products.
First, there’s DepoSim, which was released by AltaClaro earlier this year. It was launched in partnership with Verbit and offers simulation-based deposition training that includes live role-play. Depositions are conducted with AI-powered witnesses and include the ability to choose the personality of the witness being questioned. AI-powered feedback on your performance is also provided. This tool is currently targeted toward law firms but could also prove useful in a law school classroom.
There’s also Just Legal VR, which is intended for law students and lawyers and offers immersive courtroom presentation and advocacy training using Meta Quest VR headsets. The software places users inside a realistic 3D courtroom where they can practice opening statements, direct examinations and oral arguments using digital whiteboards and visual aids. A key capability is its multiangle replay system, which allows users or instructors to review a performance from the vantage point of the judge’s bench, witness stand or the jury box to evaluate body language and eye contact.
Plethora of picks
If you’re interested in online training to improve legal skills, you’ve got choices. Just as AI has disrupted traditional legal workflows and narrowed the conventional avenues for on-the-job training, it has also created powerful new opportunities for learning.
There are now many platforms available for law students, recent graduates and even experienced lawyers seeking to gain practical experience or expertise in a new practice area. By strategically integrating these video libraries, interactive simulators and AI or VR environments into your firm or law school curriculum, you can bridge the emerging experiential gap and ensure the next generation of attorneys is fully equipped to thrive in an AI-driven legal landscape.
Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York-based attorney, author and journalist. She is the principal legal insight strategist at 8am, parent company of LawPay, MyCase, CasePeer and DocketWise. She is the nationally recognized author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers and is a co-author of Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier, both published by the American Bar Association. She writes regular columns for ABAJournal.com and Above the Law, has authored hundreds of articles for other publications, and she regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law and emerging technologies. Follow her on LinkedIn, or she can be reached at [email protected].