UH Law Center Earns National Innovation Award for Transforming Legal Education with AI, Experiential Learning

UH Law students studying together with laptops and books in the John M. O’Quinn Law Building. — UH Law students learn to use AI and other technologies through hands-on technical training and experiential learning in various courses – from writing seminars and advocacy practice to technology-centered classes.

HOUSTON, June 18, 2026 — The University of Houston Law Center has been included among the 2026 Excellence in Innovation: Law Schools by Insight Into Academia magazine, the nation’s longest-running publication advancing best practices in higher education.

This new national honor recognizes law schools that are redefining legal education through forward-thinking approaches to curriculum, experiential learning, and the integration of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies as well as improving access to legal education and professional opportunities to better serve students and meet the demands of today’s workforce.

The University of Houston Law Center will be featured in the July/August 2026 issue of Insight Into Academia.

“AI and emerging technologies are transforming how law is practiced, and we believe legal education must evolve just as quickly,” said UH Law Dean Leonard M. Baynes. “This recognition affirms our commitment to preparing students not only to understand these tools, but to use them thoughtfully, ethically and effectively to serve their clients and communities.”

Seth J. Chandler, Law Foundation Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center, builds his curriculum around the idea that AI can serve as an intellectual collaborator.

Megan Daic, adjunct professor & co-director of UHLC’s Alternative Dispute Resolution program, has earned a national Innovation in Advocacy Award for her AI-powered platform that helps students learn critical advocacy skills.

Insight Into Academia selected the University of Houston Law Center for its comprehensive, hands-on approach to integrating AI into different aspects of the curriculum and student experience. Signature offerings include the course “Large Language Models for Lawyers,” where students design and build legal technology applications and “Advanced Topics in Constitutional Law,” a graduate-level seminar, requiring students to learn to use AI tools to in their research and writing, with one cohort publishing an anthology of AI-assisted scholarship. Both these courses were taught by Law Foundation Professor Seth J. Chandler, who is the author of legaled.ai — a leading blog on the use of artificial intelligence in legal education. In addition, Adjunct Professor Megan Daic, co-director of the Alternative Dispute Resolution program, has developed an AI-powered interactive platform called Empathic Edge, which earned the Innovation in Advocacy Education Award from Syracuse University College of Law. The platform allows students to practice negotiation, client counseling and other critical interpersonal skills through simulations.

The Law Center has also introduced practical AI training modules for students, faculty and staff and established a faculty-led Ad Hoc AI Committee to explore the role of AI and other technologies in the legal field and inform academic, clinical and policy discussions and opportunities to integrate such technologies into legal education, clinical work and practice.

“The Insight Into Academia Excellence in Innovation: Law Schools distinction is a prestigious national honor recognizing law schools driving innovation in legal education,” said Holly Mendelson, co-owner and publisher of Insight Into Academia magazine. “This selective recognition celebrates programs defined by forward-thinking design and measurable impact—initiatives that raise the standard and advance the field.”

UH Law students gathered in a study area inside the John M. O’Quinn Law Building with Houston visible through the windows. — The John M. O’Quinn Law Building, which is the newest law school building in Texas, offers UH Law Center students plenty of spaces to learn, gather and collaborate during their law school journey.