A year ago, Kelly Waring started an artificial intelligence (AI) initiative to transform her team. This action was an unusual departure from norms within the legal profession. This program changes not only how we do legal work, but our work environment. It makes complex case summaries move more quickly, increases productivity in accountancy and clerical work. Waring’s use of AI has made his operation much more efficient. Beyond that, it’s triggered some fundamental conversations about the future of work in law, particularly in relation to support staff and the next generation of professionals who will be entering the industry.
Waring’s focus on leveraging AI to enrich litigation practice across New South Wales, and south-east Queensland. He is convinced that this technology will disrupt the way law firms operate. Additionally, she’s seen how much AI can improve just about everything. It begs the question of how much room for error there is, and how crucial human oversight should be. “But there’s still an issue as to whether that sort of technology, which could improve access to justice, may make mistakes,” Waring stated.
The legal landscape is changing rapidly. Meraiah Foley from the University of Sydney Business School is exploring the gendered impacts of technological change in the workplace. Foley says that AI is changing very quickly. This has led to a new paradigm for younger workers – though they are generally expected to show their “value add” starting on day one. This expectation puts a lot of unnecessary burden onto new entrants into the profession to quickly learn and adjust to all these advances in technology.
Transforming Legal Tasks
The fast-paced implementation of AI tools has fundamentally changed the nature of legal work. Clinton Marks, a director at Robert Half, emphasized that AI is not replacing entire jobs but rather reshaping specific tasks within those jobs. This transformation frees up legal professionals to dedicate their time to the more intricate elements of their jobs, while automation tackles the repetitive tasks.
“Waring’s prophecy about the deep need for transformative change strikes a chord with many of us in this space. “Their skill set is simply going to change to a minimum of, ‘How do I prompt and review AI?’, and ‘How do I check and cross-reference AI with reality or advice from a senior lawyer?’” she explained. Continue reading This evolution highlights how imperative it is for legal professionals to foster alternative competencies in tandem with conventional skills.
Stella Hayes, a 22-year-old law student at Parker Kissane, represents the best of how young professionals understand this technological transition. Like Hayes, to start using AI in a way that enhances their work. “It’s an awesome tool you can use for administrative tasks like preliminary research and creating briefs,” she remarked. She believes that leveraging AI can provide valuable time for developing advocacy and interpersonal skills essential for client interactions.
The Role of Education and Adaptation
Graduates are now entering a workforce that is quickly being transformed by AI. Third, educational institutions need to change their curricula to better prepare students for this new reality. AI was characterized as a “superpower” for graduates by Murray Cassar, general manager for education at the Tax Institute. As Chairman, he touted the potential of AI to alleviate burden from monotonous tasks such as analyzing massive data sets. This frees up new staff to work on more proactive, big-picture tasks.
Given this shifting landscape, educators such as Professor Michael Legg are adamant that graduates need to be on the defensive. “You can’t sit still and think, ‘Oh it’s not going to have an impact on me because I’ve got a law degree,’” he stated. Legg advocates for the teaching of digital literacy and new technology skills. In addition, he argues for the value of interpersonal skills—what he terms “practical wisdom.”
Many have rightly expressed concerns about how AI will impact jobs. Hayes and her classmates are confident that rather than phase them out, technology will make their jobs even better. “I think we can definitely use it to our advantage to get things done a lot faster so that we have more time to learn the advocacy and the interpersonal skills to deal with clients,” she concluded.
The Future of Legal Work
As the integration of AI in law continues, industry leaders anticipate further advancements that will reshape client interactions and service delivery. And looking ahead, Waring envisions a future where people can easily obtain the basic legal information they need without needing to hire an attorney. “Obtaining basic legal information will be possible,” she said, reflecting on how consumer expectations might shift as technology improves.
Along with the promise, Waring is clear that as generative AI replaces certain tasks, it hasn’t flipped the script just yet. “It hasn’t totally changed the game just yet, but it is on its way,” she noted, suggesting that while AI is becoming a crucial part of legal work, human expertise remains essential in navigating complex legal matters.
