AI in Law School: Corbin Winward on Learning the Fundamentals Before Using the Shortcut

In this episode of The Smarter Campus Podcast, Zach sits down with Corbin Winward, a 3L at Baylor University School of Law and President of the Baylor Plaintiff’s Law Association, to explore how the next generation of lawyers is navigating AI in real time.Corbin offers a student perspective on one of the biggest tensions facing legal education: students need to understand how to use AI, but they also need enough foundational knowledge to recognize when it is wrong. He explains why learning to research cases, analyze precedent, and draft legal arguments manually still matters—even when AI can dramatically accelerate those same tasks.The conversation also explores AI as a force multiplier in plaintiff’s law, where smaller teams often face opponents with far greater resources. Corbin makes the case that responsible AI use can help level that playing field, while also creating a new ethical responsibility for lawyers to balance efficiency with verification and professional judgment.For law professors, students, and legal professionals, this episode offers a grounded look at what AI literacy should actually mean: not outsourcing the work, but understanding the work well enough to use AI intelligently.