Artificial Intelligence in Legal Education: Regulatory Drivers, Institutional Responses, and Pedagogical Challenges in Vietnam

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping legal work and the preparation of future lawyers, yet little is known about how centrally regulated systems are responding in law schools. This study examines AI in Vietnamese legal education by analysing regulatory drivers, institutional responses, and pedagogical challenges in the public record up to 3 October 2026. A qualitative documentary analysis was conducted on a purposive corpus of 16 documents and analysed thematically. Four findings emerged. First, between March 2025 and August 2026 Vietnam assembled a layered regulatory architecture, including the Law on Artificial Intelligence (in force 1 March 2026) and two ministerial circulars. Second, these circulars require AI content in undergraduate learning outcomes and oblige institutions to adopt an AI code of conduct. Third, documented institutional responses are uneven, while student use of AI tools advances from the bottom up. Fourth, curriculum lag, faculty capacity, academic integrity, data protection, and output reliability recur as challenges. We interpret this as a “regulatory push, practice lag” pattern and argue for verification-centred teaching and assessment. The findings are analytical, not measures of effectiveness.