Research Assistants (Access to Justice)

10%-30%, Zurich, fixed-term

The Law, Economics, and Data Science research group, headed by Prof. Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich, is seeking Research Assistants (Access to Justice). We are looking for highly motivated law students with an interest in legal technology, artificial intelligence, and access to justice.

The position offers an opportunity to contribute to research on how AI can improve access to legal information and legal services. Research assistants will work closely with faculty members and researchers on projects involving legal datasets, judicial decisions, legislation, and emerging AI tools for legal analysis.

Successful candidates will join an interdisciplinary research team at ETH Zurich working at the intersection of law, data science, and public policy.

Job description

As a student research assistant, you will contribute to a range of research activities, including:

• Gathering, organizing, and digitizing legal materials from legislative, judicial, and archival sources
• Collecting and curating datasets of statutes, regulations, court decisions, and legal scholarship
• Conducting legal and policy research using both traditional legal methods and technology-assisted approaches
• Preparing annotated bibliographies, literature reviews, research memoranda, and concise research summaries
• Supporting the evaluation and validation of AI systems used for legal research, legal information retrieval, and legal analysis
• Assisting with data quality assurance, annotation, and documentation for empirical research projects
• Collaborating with researchers from law, economics, computer science, and related disciplines

Depending on experience and interests, research assistants may also have opportunities to contribute to empirical legal studies, legal data engineering, and the development of AI tools for legal applications.

Profile

We welcome applications from advanced law students, preferably in the later stages of a Bachelor's degree or enrolled in a Master's program.

You are interested in legal research and curious about how new technologies are transforming legal practice, legal institutions, and access to justice. You enjoy working independently while also contributing to collaborative research projects.

Ideally, you bring:

• Strong academic performance in legal studies
• Excellent legal research and writing skills
• Attention to detail and the ability to work carefully with complex legal materials
• A bias to action
• An interest in legal technology, empirical legal research, artificial intelligence, or access-to-justice issues
• Strong organizational skills and reliability in managing research tasks
• Fluency in German and English
• Prior research experience is an advantage but not required Workplace

Workplace

We offer

• The opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research on law, artificial intelligence, and access to justice
• Close collaboration with an international and interdisciplinary team of researchers
• Exposure to empirical legal research methods, legal data analysis, and emerging AI technologies
• Flexible working arrangements that can be combined with academic studies
• Competitive compensation according to ETH Zurich standards
• A dynamic and intellectually stimulating research environment at one of Europe's leading universities
• Your job with impact: Become part of ETH Zurich, which not only supports your professional development, but also actively contributes to positive change in society
• You can expect numerous benefits, such as public transport season tickets and car sharing, a wide range of sports offered by the ASVZ, childcare and attractive pension benefits

We value diversity and sustainability

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