By: Patrick Paulsen

In the ever-evolving world of law, the advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping traditional practices and methodologies, as well as raising concerns about its prejudices, lack of ethics and regulations, and abilities to make certain person-provided services automated or redundant. Perhaps closest to home for many law students, however, is how the implementation of AI in legal services will change or eliminate the professional roles they hope to occupy post-graduation. To prepare and grapple with the shifts coming to the industry, it is important for aspiring attorneys to understand the size of disruption AI will create who it will impact, and what skills can be prioritized to succeed in the legal workplace of tomorrow.

Large Scale Disruption in Legal Services

While many firms are still in “wait and see” mode regarding generative AI (As of April only 3% of firms had adopted generative AI), experts expect the impact of generative on the legal services industry to be gigantic, and it is not hard to imagine why. With a global market worth around $700 billion, it is no wonder that the legal services industry is ripe for massive gains to be realized through increased efficiency. This opportunity has spurred legal software companies such as Lexis to deliver “hallucination free” legal citations, briefing, and document drafting. Westlaw is not far behind after Thomson Reuters’s (Westlaw’s parent company) recent $650 million acquisition of legal technology company Casetext, Inc.

While players in the legal industry scramble to implement generative AI and outcompete each other, the extent and full impacts of generative AI are currently unknown. A recent Goldman Sachs economics report estimated that 44% of tasks in the legal industry can be automated through generative AI. AI’s potentially high impact on the industry has led to an array of predictions for the near future. Some reports predict record levels of profitability for firms as AI can perform tasks with much higher productivity and accuracy than legal professionals.

On the other hand, consultant reports and industry experts warn that the integration of AI could spell doom on the economic models of law firms. Validatum, a legal pricing consultancy group, notes that accessing and implementing AI technology entails high upfront costs for firms. While the investment in AI will enable firms to process legal work much more effectively and competitively, such gains in productivity eliminate the functionality of the primary source of legal revenue, the billable hour. As stated by Mark McCreary, co-chair of Fox Rothschild’s privacy and data security practice “a lot of risk for the firm—you spend $1 million on a product to take [away] $3 million worth of hours.” Most of the work that is easily automated is currently in the domain of paralegals and younger associates, such as administrative tasks, document review, and contract drafting. This has led industry insiders such as McCreary to express concern about the practice itself, noting that associates may develop fewer skills and that there will likely be a significant reduction in the workforce.

 Young Associate, Paralegal, and In-House Work is Most Vulnerable

One of the areas significantly affected is the hiring process for first-year associates in law firms. With first-year firm hirings already down in 2023, the prospect of automation eliminating jobs is a harsh reality for many aspiring attorneys. With automation already being cited as a reason for firm layoffs, it seems that the opportunities to break into the legal industry may be much sparser. In fact, Deloitte predicts 100,000 legal industry jobs could likely be automated in the next twenty years. 

In addition to new associates, in-house and corporate counsel work is also likely to be greatly impacted by the integration of generative AI with their workplace. Unlike firms, in-house counsel does not have an incentive to maximize hours, and common tasks such as contract analysis and document review are ripe for automation through AI.

Perhaps the most at risk of disruption in their roles are paralegals. There are over 300,000 paralegal jobs in the United States and the anxiety over future job stability is already mounting. Similar to first-year associates, paralegals are designated tasks such as document review and clerical work which are most at risk of being automated away or transformed through AI integration.

With so much at stake for the professionals who currently fill these roles or plan to in the future, many are asking whether they will be replaced, and if not, what can be done to stay ahead of the curve.

Silver Linings and Skills for the Future

Luckily not everyone believes that shifts will lead to large-scale displacement. Some consultants and managing partners believe that firm structures will not shift radically from pyramids to diamonds and that the transformative power of AI could lead to more high-level or client-facing work for associates earlier in their careers. However, like any new technology, the rise of AI integration in the legal profession means that workers will have to adjust their skillsets.

Zach Warren, Thomson Reuters head of technology and innovation states that due to AI’s ability to create first drafts, “[a]ll the writing you learn in law school will become editing.” The rise of AI in the legal workplaces of course will mean that any aspiring legal professional will have to understand and be able to productively make use of the newly integrated technologies. One such skill that is already being recruited for is that of “prompt engineering.” Because generative AI is dependent upon input and direction from a user, understanding how best to instruct the AI is a key component in putting AI to constructive use. For this reason, bridging the gap between prompt engineering and legal expertise is a must-have skill for legal professionals going forward.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that AI will impact the legal industry immensely, far beyond previous technological advances such as printers and copying machines. However, only the future will reveal whether AI integration will lead to an increase in opportunities in legal services or make many roles redundant. Either way, those aspiring to be attorneys or work in the legal services industry must be proactive and diligent in honing not only traditional legal skills but also in integrating generative AI tools into their practice.