The more I use AI, the more pessimistic I become about certain types of lawyer value.
Not all lawyer value.
But the kind that depends on being the person who can produce a basic first draft, summarise a document, explain a general legal concept, or generate a standard clause.
Because AI is getting very good at that layer of work.
And that creates an uncomfortable question for lawyers:
If your value is mainly that you can produce something that AI can produce in seconds, what exactly is the client paying for?
This doesn’t mean lawyers are becoming irrelevant.
But it does mean some forms of legal work are becoming easier to challenge.
The value is moving.
It’s moving away from basic production.
And towards judgement.
Towards knowing what matters.
Knowing what’s missing.
Knowing what’s risky.
Knowing what’s commercially unrealistic.
Knowing when the apparently neat answer is wrong.
Knowing how to advise a real client in a real situation with real consequences.
AI can produce words.
But legal value has to be more than words.
It has to be accuracy, context, strategy, ethics, responsibility and judgement.
The uncomfortable truth is that AI may not replace good lawyers.
But it may expose lawyers whose value was never as deep as they thought it was.
And for junior lawyers, students and firms, that matters.
Because the question is no longer just:
“Can you produce the work?”
It’s:
“Can you understand, verify, improve and take responsibility for the work?”
That’s where lawyer value is going.
And I think the profession needs to be much more honest about it.
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