Flying cars in our lifetime?

Advances in technology continue to gain pace.  The pandemic has led to dramatic changes in the way we do business and good lawyers will recognise that the advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) will further change the landscape.

A Report commissioned by the Law Society of England and Wales has predicted that employment in the legal sector will decline significantly with a large part of the legal profession replaced by artificial intelligence and self-service legal advice with a  ‘savage reduction’ in full-time jobs by 2050.  In a provocative, cheeky statement, the report says that human lawyers who remain will work alongside technology – and be required to take “performance-enhancing medication in order to optimise their own productivity and effectiveness”.

Good lawyers have nothing to fear.  Automation of tasks brings benefits.  AI will be able to work 24/7 without making mistakes and learning will be shared immediately.  However, skilled lawyers will always be indispensable in carrying out tasks which are knowledge-intensive, require expert analysis and excellent judgement.