What will be the new law practice paradigm? No more big law firms? Are recent law school graduates competing with experienced senior lawyers? More blurred lines among the so-called professions? No such thing as the unauthorized practice of law? And what will become of the law schools? AI is a wildfire. It is consuming the entire landscape of law practice. Just take a look at these four examples.
Big Firm Business Plans. Prominent firms managing partners are rewriting their business plans; from the number of summer associates to the partner's role, how and by whom the work will be done is up for grabs. The recent graduates are not needed for grunt work and won't do it anyway. They will think they can compete with partners. What about the partnership track? Will the distinction between partner and associate be eliminated? Will paralegals replace associates? What about the support staff? Reduced? Eliminated? What, after all, is the advantage of the big firm? Bodies for litigation? Each lawyer, young and old, will have AI at their fingertips. Newly minted lawyers can go solo from the get-go.
Recent Graduates. Depending on how this all sorts out, why go to law school. But, having gone, newbies can go toe to toe with more experienced attorneys. They can advertise the latest automated systems and how quickly, efficiently, competently, and wisely they can use them. Given the selfishness of the younger generation, they will eschew the gargantuan firm partnership in favor of working in a cooperative office space or at home. They will develop innovative pricing schemes weighted for predicted results. One thing is for absolute certainty: the old business model of controlling the pyramid from the top and grinding through grunt workers at the bottom sold as poison carrots to unwary rabbits is gone forever.
Unauthorized Practice of Law. In the 1970s, accounting firms began to branch out into business consulting, and there followed a rush to broaden their revenue base in government contracts by including everything from accounting to management and then to claims. The movement into accounting, management, and claims was natural as all involved detailed statutes and voluminous regulations that rivaled the tax code in complexity and obscurity. Around the same time, the legal profession took note and began to attack the unauthorized practice of law. The ABA got in the act and attempted to draw boundaries. There arose a hew and cry about the dangers of nonlawyers giving legal advice, but by the end of the century, the issue went away as all parties were prospering.
Enter AI, which gives everyone the tools to practice law. Or, at least, so they may think. The legal community must redefine itself and resurrect the unauthorized practice of law prohibition.
Law School. To go or not to go. That is the question. Or, go because the main course and path to riches is AI. What ethics apply? How will the curriculum change and the method of teaching the courses offered develop? What career plans and paths will the students develop? Will the geeks and the thinkers compete or join forces as partners? Will students be allowed to use AI, and if so, under what restraints?
Once again, our beloved capitalistic marketplace works without rules, regulations, and universal codes of ethics. The legal profession has come a long way since the 1960s. It's a new, very bright day. We all need to work together to smooth the transition to this new era.
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