Prospective lawyers face a brutal reality over the next decade as next-gen AI cuts the need for junior talent. The heavy impact of artificial intelligence technology’s impact on the legal industry’s junior ranks is fast becoming clear, as major law firms start to reassess graduate intakes.
Top tier law firm MinterEllison this year became the first major Australian firm to cut its graduate cohort due to AI, trimming intake by almost a third.
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Norton Rose Fulbright, Allens and Mallesons have also pulled back on their graduate cohorts, but deny generative AI tech is to blame.
The drop off in grad numbers is a sign of things to come, according to industry players, who say AI could replace thousands of junior roles over the next decade.
Some legal recruiters are already seeing a sharp drop in junior roles as AI is used to justify leaner teams inside some firms, while Deloitte warns that a large portion of legal work may soon no longer require traditional human labour at all.
Morris Misel, a business futurist, says it’s possible that more than 10,000 legal roles, including many junior positions, could cease to exist in Australia by 2036.
“What we’re already seeing across many industries is that AI doesn’t eliminate professions overnight. It removes tasks, then compresses workflows, then changes how many people are required to deliver an outcome. Law won’t be immune,” Misel says.
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