JD Anywhere: Innovating in an industry rooted in tradition

Published by Law.com.

The changing landscape of student learning and living

The future of American legal education is here. A new cohort of JD students matriculated in January into a bold new part-time online JD experience within the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. Their experiences will be radically different from prior generations. They represent a coming convergence where students will expect technology-forward law schools that are innovative and willing to revisit dated law school teaching pedagogies and reevaluate what it takes to produce a new wave of critical thinkers for a rapidly changing legal profession.

Today’s law students are tech-savvy, nimble, pragmatic and deeply rooted in the realities of modern life. They have different expectations for how they will learn, live and work. Contrary to some stereotypes, today’s students are not afraid to engage in the hard work and discipline that symbolize the path to becoming an attorney. They work hard and they also work smart, by employing AI and other technology tools that make them more efficient and more open to change while they also prioritize their health, wellbeing and relationships, both personal and professional.

The ASU online JD students are highly credentialed. But they are also caregivers, veterans and active duty service members and aspiring public interest lawyers who want the flexibility to pursue a JD without putting the rest of their lives on hold. Asking them to abandon careers, families or community obligations for three years is no longer a neutral expectation; it is a structural barrier.

That does not mean that the traditional law school model will become obsolete. Most of our JD students will continue to choose a residential experience — three years in our downtown Phoenix building, with opportunities to also study in Washington, D.C., or pursue externships across the nation or the world while prioritizing the value of an in-person academic community. That model remains central to who we are.

For too long, legal education has treated this traditional path as the only legitimate one. Meanwhile, the legal profession has spent decades discussing access-to-justice challenges without meaningfully changing how we educate lawyers.

We decided it was time to move from conversation to action.

One JD, multiple pathways

We did not create a separate credential or a diluted alternative. We doubled down to offer one JD degree, earned through different teaching and experiential modalities. The curriculum is the same. The award-winning full-time faculty members are the same. The expectations for rigor, engagement and excellence are the same. We employed the latest technologies and are inventing some of our own while adhering to one philosophy: we are unafraid to reimagine legal education.

When we opened applications last summer for our inaugural January 2026 online cohort, the response was extraordinary: more than 1,300 applications for a deliberately small first class. The message is unmistakable. There is a hunger for high-quality, accessible legal education and an urgent demand for lawyers prepared to serve where they are most needed.
Students in our first cohort are logging in from rural towns, major metropolitan areas, tribal nations, military bases and embassies around the world. For many, relocation was not merely inconvenient; it is impossible. Legal education must meet students where they are.

This program is led from the dean’s suite under the guidance of Vice Dean and Charles J. Merriam Distinguished Professor of Law Angela Banks. It is supported by the technical expertise of ASU EdPlus, a national leader in digital pedagogy and online learning design that partners with faculty to deliver rigorous education. Our obligation to all students remains constant across all modalities: deliver a rigorous academic experience, support students holistically and position graduates for success.

Designing for the world we live in

The future of legal education sits at the intersection of access, technology and lived reality. Students rightly expect flexibility without sacrificing excellence. We can no longer pretend that a single model fits every aspiring lawyer — or that careers, families and service commitments are distractions rather than valuable assets.

Before they ever apply, many students know where they want to live, work and serve. Our responsibility is to design an education system that moves with that clarity, not against it.

That mindset also shapes how we approach technology integration. We recently launched the AI and Legal Tech Studio within ASU Law’s Center for Law, Science and Innovation, a space for faculty and students to critically engage with the tools reshaping legal practice. While some institutions debate whether artificial intelligence belongs in legal education, our students are learning to use it thoughtfully, ethically and effectively.

A call to the profession

Arizona State University has been ranked No. 1 in innovation by U.S. News & World Report for 11 consecutive years, but this work cannot, and should not, belong to one institution. The future of legal education requires collaboration, transparency and a willingness to share what works.

This fall, we will convene legal educators, technologists and practitioners from across the country to focus on best practices for digital learners and the next generation of JD delivery. The access-to-justice gap is too wide, and the need too urgent, for gatekeeping.

The boldest tradition in law has never been preserving the past without critical introspection. It has been building institutions capable of meeting the moment.

Legal education must do the same.

This fall, we invite law schools, educators, legal professionals and the public from across the country to continue this conversation, to share what they are learning and to work collectively toward models that better serve students, the profession and the communities that depend on us. Sign up below to receive information about our forthcoming convening and join the conversation about the future of legal education.