Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative technology across various sectors, including legal education. With its growing influence, AI presents both challenges and opportunities in reshaping educational systems, particularly in developing countries such as South Africa (SA). While recognising these challenges, this paper examines the potential beneficial role of AI in enhancing SA legal education, focusing on teaching, learning, assessment and research. Through this exploration, this paper argues that AI can address existing disparities in educational access, thereby promoting greater equality while emphasising the critical need to foster wisdom, beyond mere knowledge, in legal education.

SA legal education is marked by systemic challenges, including high student-educator ratios, unequal access to resources, socio-economic disparities and infrastructural limitations, particularly in rural areas. AI has the potential to mitigate these challenges by improving access to quality legal education, optimising resource allocation and creating more personalised learning environments. However, this transformation requires a deliberate shift in pedagogical approaches to ensure that students use AI tools both ethically and wisely.

Methodology: This paper adopted a literature review methodology, drawing on existing scholarly research on the benefits of AI in education and legal education specifically. A systematic review of academic sources was conducted to identify key themes and trends in AI's application to legal education. This review allowed for a comprehensive examination of AI's potential benefits and challenges. The findings arising from this literature review were then contextualised to the SA legal educational context by the application of insights gained through practical experience in this environment in order to better expound on the vast potential uses and benefits offered by AI in SA’s legal educational context.

Results: The literature review revealed several potential benefits of AI in teaching, learning, assessment and research in legal education. Within the SA context, the application of personal, practical insights and experience further revealed that AI can enhance the quality and accessibility of education in resource-constrained environments.

Conclusion: AI presents an unprecedented opportunity to revolutionise legal education in SA by addressing long-standing challenges in access, quality and resource allocation. However, to fully realise these benefits, it is essential to integrate AI in a way that promotes ethical usage, critical thinking and the cultivation of wisdom in law students. By doing so, SA legal education can become more inclusive, equitable and effective in preparing students for the complexities of the modern legal profession. To this end, certain key aspects in need of integration into legal educational approaches are identified.

Keywords: Access and equality, AI in legal education, Benefits, South Africa, Wisdom.