Vanderbilt Law School has partnered with AltaClaro to bring DepoSim, an AI-powered deposition simulation platform developed in collaboration with Verbit, to students beginning in the Fall 2026 semester.
The partnership makes Vanderbilt the first law school to incorporate DepoSim into legal education and expands the school’s AI Law Lab initiative, giving students hands-on opportunities to practice deposition skills using artificial intelligence.
DepoSim is designed to recreate elements of real-world litigation by allowing students to verbally question simulated witnesses with different personalities, respond to real-time objections from a range of opposing counsel personas and adapt to unpredictable developments during a deposition.
Students will be able to use DepoSim through Vanderbilt’s Legal Practice Technology course, Law Firm Practice Simulation course and other clinical offerings, as well as independently through the Vanderbilt Law Library.
The initiative is part of Vanderbilt’s broader effort to ensure graduates develop both traditional legal skills and the technological fluency increasingly expected by law firms and other employers.
Unlike conventional mock depositions, which can require faculty members, classmates or hired actors to participate as witnesses or opposing counsel, DepoSim provides an AI-powered environment that students can use repeatedly.
Following each simulation, students receive immediate rubric-based feedback evaluating their questioning strategy and techniques, professionalism, responsiveness and overall performance.
The platform is intended to expose students to some of the uncertainty they may encounter in actual legal practice, including different personalities, unexpected answers and situations requiring lawyers to adjust their approach in real time.
Within Vanderbilt’s Legal Practice Technology and Law Firm Practice Simulation courses, students will use DepoSim through instructor demonstrations, collaborative exercises and hands-on simulations.
Beyond formal coursework, every Vanderbilt Law student will be able to access DepoSim independently through the Law Library, allowing students to practice on their own schedules even if they are not enrolled in litigation-focused classes.
The initial simulations will cover commercial litigation, employment law, intellectual property, antitrust, securities, mass torts and expert witness depositions.
AltaClaro also plans to expand the platform later in 2026 with additional simulations covering trial practice, oral arguments, discovery, client interviews and negotiations.
The growing simulation library is designed to help students develop practical skills across multiple legal disciplines while also exposing them to different areas of litigation as they consider potential career paths.
For AltaClaro, the Vanderbilt partnership expands DepoSim’s reach from law firms into legal education.
Since launching in February 2026, more than 25 Am Law firms have adopted and deployed DepoSim to train litigators.
The company sees growing demand for experiential legal training as law firms increasingly seek new attorneys who can combine doctrinal knowledge with practical skills and familiarity with emerging technologies.
Vanderbilt Law School was founded in 1874 and has increasingly focused on connecting legal theory with practical training relevant to modern legal practice.
KEY QUOTES:
“Legal education has a responsibility not only to teach students the law, but to prepare them for how law is practiced. We’re intentionally exposing students to the technologies they’re going to encounter in practice. We are building foundational competency across a range of emerging tools, so students understand what these systems can really do, ask sharper questions of them, and keep adapting as the tools change underneath them.”
Emily Pavuluri, Associate Director of the Vanderbilt AI Law Lab at Vanderbilt Law School and Law Library
“DepoSim allows us to get much closer to the realities of practice which include human-to-human interaction. The real world isn’t perfectly scripted. Lawyers encounter different personalities, unexpected responses, and situations that require them to think on their feet, pivot, and have judgment. Simulation technology gives students somewhere to practice before a real client is depending on how they handle it. DepoSim helps students develop critical thinking skills, and demonstrates how AI can enhance education itself, not just provide productivity efficiency.”
Emily Pavuluri, Associate Director of the Vanderbilt AI Law Lab at Vanderbilt Law School and Law Library
“Law firms are increasingly looking for graduates who can contribute from day one, and that requires more than doctrinal knowledge. Partnering with Vanderbilt Law School and its AI Law Lab gives students practical experience using the same type of AI-powered training technologies they’re likely to encounter throughout their careers. Vanderbilt continues to demonstrate what forward-thinking legal education looks like by ensuring students graduate not only with strong legal fundamentals, but with the confidence and technological fluency today’s profession demands.”
Abdi Shayesteh, CEO of AltaClaro
“We’re hearing from law firms that they want graduates who have been exposed to AI tools and are prepared to evolve alongside technology. At Vanderbilt, we focus on providing foundational knowledge and exposure so they can work effectively with whatever technologies their future employers adopt. DepoSim demonstrates how AI can be used not just to produce legal work, but to help lawyers learn and develop throughout their careers.”
Emily Pavuluri, Associate Director of the Vanderbilt AI Law Lab at Vanderbilt Law School and Law Library
