Apr 01, 2026 | AI and product innovation
Thomson Reuters and Hotshot Partner to Close the Gap Between Law School and Legal Practice
Law students gain access to fiduciary-grade AI tools paired with real-world legal training content
The legal profession is changing faster than ever before, and the pressure on law schools to produce practice-ready graduates has never been greater. Today, Thomson Reuters and Hotshot are proud to announce a landmark partnership designed to meet that challenge of the rapidly changing profession head-on – giving law students an unparalleled opportunity to approach their summer positions (and beyond) with the skills, knowledge, and technological fluency that modern legal practice demands.
Two Industry Leaders, One Shared Mission
Thomson Reuters recently announced that more than 120,000 law students across the U.S. will have access to their latest AI technology, CoCounsel Legal and Deep Research from Westlaw – making it the first company to provide this scale of fiduciary-grade AI access to law students nationwide. Thomson Reuters serves more than 200 law schools across the U.S., including top-tier T14 institutions, extending a 150-year legacy of supporting legal education.
Hotshot has built a reputation as the go-to learning platform for lawyers at every stage of their careers. Hotshot now helps over half the Am Law 100, top law schools, and in-house teams provide on-demand learning, interactive learning, and experiential training programs in remote, live, and hybrid settings. Founded on the insight that even the smartest people who went to the best law schools don’t yet know what they’re doing when they start practicing law, Hotshot’s solution was to bring innovations in digital learning to the legal industry – things like short, practical videos, experiential, hands-on workshops, and mobile learning.
Together, these two organizations are combining the most advanced AI-enabled legal technology in the market with the most practical, skills-based legal training content available – and putting it directly in the hands of law students before they ever set foot in a law firm.
What the Partnership Delivers
Hotshot and CoCounsel Legal provide law students with hands-on experience to the very latest in AI technology, making them more appealing to employers and preparing them for practice right after graduation. By combining these resources, students gain exposure to cutting-edge AI tools, practical skills and essential methods to succeed from the start of their legal careers. With Hotshot videos, students learn substantive concepts, then use CoCounsel Legal to apply this knowledge – creating well-structured, research-driven work product that meets future workplace standards.
To give students a clear and structured path to practice readiness, Thomson Reuters and Hotshot have together curated four “prepare to practice” learning tracks built around Hotshot courses: AI Foundations, Professionalism & Business Skills, Civil Litigation Basics, and Transactional Practice Overview. Available to the more than 120,000 law students across the country who already have access to Thomson Reuters’ platform, each track brings together short, practical courses designed to deliver immediately applicable knowledge – and for every course a student completes, they earn a co-branded Thomson Reuters and Hotshot Certificate of Completion that can be added directly to their LinkedIn profile.
These credentials signal to employers that a candidate has already developed the core skills and knowledge the profession demands. That foundational competence, paired with hands-on fluency in CoCounsel Legal, positions students to contribute meaningfully from day one – and to stand apart in an increasingly competitive market for legal talent.
The Future of Legal Education Starts Now
The legal industry is no longer asking whether AI will transform practice – it already has. “Professionals are not deciding whether to use AI anymore. They are deciding which AI they trust when their reputation and their clients’ data are on the line,” said Pat Eveland, general manager, Government, Thomson Reuters.
This partnership ensures that when today’s law students make that decision, they’ll do so with the experience, confidence, and skills to use these tools responsibly and effectively. The gap between law school and practice has long been one of the profession’s most persistent challenges. Thomson Reuters and Hotshot are closing it.
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Thomson Reuters in this way to help so many law students. By combining market-leading technology and foundational knowledge and skills, we’re helping make sure that students are as prepared for possible to shine in interviews, summer roles, and beyond,” said Ian Nelson, Co-Founder, Hotshot.
