This article is an invitation to look beyond the hype of AI, and instead understand it as a means to amplify the human potential of lawyers.
Importantly, legal is but a small piece of a much larger transformation, and by embracing this reality, lawyers have a unique opportunity to redefine their role as the scaffolding in an evolving society.
AI presents the legal profession with an inescapable, foundational question: If AI can already apply law to facts with incredible precision, handle sophisticated content creation, and analyze voluminous and detailed data, what becomes of lawyers when this technology matures?
And if senior lawyers simply rely on these powerful systems, how do we train lawyers to become these “senior lawyers”?
The answer is both fascinating and boring — because everything will change, and nothing.
Indulge me this cryptic introduction…
Everything Will Change. And Nothing.
There’s a frequent story told about bank tellers and the introduction of ATMs in the 1970’s. Experts predicted that ATMs would render the bank teller extinct, and quickly.
They were wrong.
There are multiples more of bank tellers today than there were in the 1970’s, all while ATM installs have skyrocketed.
I hear similar stories and predictions today about AI’s impact on lawyers. And like the predictions about ATMs and bank tellers, they will also turn out to be a complete miss.
Knowledge industries have also faced disruptive technologies, and the people in them are thriving. Consider how Excel transformed accounting, how CAD changed architecture design, and how cloud computing reshaped software development.
Processes have always changed; a lawyer 40 years ago spent their days very different than those today. But they were still applying expertise and reasoning to facts and laws — and in essence, the future lawyer will be doing just that. It doesn’t change the core human function of a lawyer — being accountable for judgment, expertise, and societal understanding.
Ai will shift the how and where of legal services, but not the fundamental why.
And that’s what makes this technological
advancement truly the same as all others: it’s being
built by and for humanity.
The Path to Transformation: Processes vs. Systems
Looking at all past major waves of innovation, it’s helpful to draw a distinction between processes and systems.
In major innovation cycles, processes improve first. And in legal, it’s happening already. Routine tasks — drafting, research, e-discovery — are already benefiting from AI, and have been for many years.
Systems take much longer to reform. True transformation happens after we see how these improved processes interconnect, scale, and create new possibilities. At that point, entire structures (like the way legal services are organized, delivered, and priced) can undergo radical reimagining.
A Cousin Industry: Software Development
To illustrate this point, it’s instructive to look at the cousin industry of software development.
I call it a cousin industry because software development, at its core, is configuring language to clarify certain actions or truths — just like lawyers. And it has long been at the forefront of iterative process improvements (e.g., version control, testing frameworks, continuous integration). Those refinements laid the groundwork for massive system-level shifts, such as the internet revolution and cloud computing, which democratized communication and reshaped industries like energy, transportation, agriculture, and finance.
Yet as of the writing of this article, ‘modern AI’ has sped up software development by ~10%. That’s a significant advancement in a relatively short time, to be sure. Yet virtually all experts promise a much more impacted future (and many are frustrated by the current pace).
The “modest” 10% has to do with AI’s tech nascency yes, but when we zoom out, it has more to do with the systems in which AI has not yet been used. Amara’s Law is certainly at play, as we overestimate impact in the short term, and underestimate it in the long term.
The same will occur in the legal community as the age of AI matures. Process first, then systems.
Why Lawyers Will Endure
Taken to its logical conclusion — and setting aside the “messy middle” for a moment — are these process & system-level shifts likely to make lawyers obsolete? I argue unequivocally they will not. As the brilliant Richard Susskind and others have long contended, law isn’t merely about mechanically applying rules to facts; it demands empathy, moral insight, and accountability — AKA humanity.
But that begets the “big” question: what does it mean
to inject *humanity* into our legal systems and technologies?
If machines become more powerful than we could have imagined, which seems on the
horizon, what is it that only humans can provide?
As it turns out, a lot.
Below, I’ll highlight five key reasons why these uniquely human qualities will empower lawyers to not only persist, but thrive in an AI-driven world.
1. The Human Elements: Empathy and Accountability
Laws exist to serve people, not efficiency metrics.
Judges deciding custody cases aren’t just applying legal standards; they’re determining whether a child grows up seeing a parent once a day or once a month. Parties negotiating a major acquisition aren’t just buying stuff; they’re sizing each other up and building trust for post-deal success. These roles demand more than legal proficiency — they require empathy, insight and accountability.
And at least for the foreseeable future, AI lacks the ability to fully engage human empathy, exercise cultural sensitivity, or exercise moral responsibility, let alone grasp the full contextual significance of its conclusions — all of which are vital for our justice system to succeed.
2. The Exercise Matters
The entire legal process — deadlines, court hearings, back-and-forth negotiations — helps stakeholders and societies build relationships and trust to see justice in action. In many ways, perception is as crucial as the outcome itself.
AI can draft briefs and contracts in seconds, to be sure. Current legaltech can already ingest huge amounts of information and make expert high-quality analysis and conclusions. This unlocks an enormous amount of potential.
But it currently lacks the nuanced moral and emotional judgment needed to handle human complexity. Our society demands trust and rule of law to operate, which cannot be achieved by pointing to a black box which spits out an immediate answer.
The timing and processes help everyone gain confidence in the system. The exercise matters.
3. Law in Service of Humans
Society demands accountability; and if it’s important enough, which is when lawyers get involved, clients want someone’s tush on the line. Just as surgeons use robotic arms for operations precision, but are legally and practically responsible for surgical outcomes, people want humans accountable for critical legal decisions.
Humans demand human accountability for life-altering decisions. And for life-changing matters — like criminal cases, custody battles, or major corporate deals — humans want a person we can talk to, to interpret the situation, navigate the gray areas, and exercise empathy. And using their powerful Ai legal machines, of course.
4. AI Is Changing Everything — Not Just How Lawyers Work
Importantly, we are but a small piece of a much larger transformation; New laws and regulations are barely keeping pace with our AI powered society. Someone must navigate this growing complexity and ask the right questions.
During this period of innovation, I argue the world will need lawyers more than ever — our creativity, our humanity and expertise — to facilitate global Ai driven changes. This will be our biggest challenge and most important value driver.
Because the future lawyer’s new role must reflect and
react to new systems of economy, public policy and
justice for these AI systems to succeed.
5. Value Through Effort
Human effort has always been the source of value; When things come too easily, they lose their meaning. Think about a letter of recommendation, written by a professor for a student job applicant. If the recommendation is generated by AI in 30 seconds, then reviewed by an organization’s AI machine, what has actually happened? This process lacks depth and substance because the recipient wants to know that an authority spent their energy crafting the letter; To demonstrate they stand behind this candidate. Effort, not just output, shapes trust.
In all things human, it’s the personal effort that deepens understanding, fosters collaboration, and maintains respect and legitimacy for our systems. And when current legal processes are completely replaced, we will find new ways to apply our efforts to solve big hairy problems.
The Evolving Role of the Lawyer
There’s no doubt this technological advancement is different than others. Machines can now generate sophisticated language on their own, for the first time in human history.
This shift won’t be painless. There will be systems-level work to do in a messy middle, where AI displaces the routine tasks that once trained junior associates. I don’t have an answer for how associates gain the foundational skills that were once acquired through grunt work…
Yet the future lawyer is neither doomed to extinction nor guaranteed a free pass; rather, legal professionals will have to adapt thoughtfully and proactively. And as with every great disruption, this revolution brings tremendous opportunity for those who embrace it on their own terms.
Lawyers as Conductors
Skilled lawyers have long orchestrated teams, transactions, and trials. As AI joins this orchestra, we’ll still need conductors who can direct strategy, empathize with clients, and navigate ethical gray areas.
“Traditional associate tasks” or more accurately labeled, “recent-past associate tasks,” will likely be handled by machines. A partner will have their machine, and an associate will have theirs.
Less like a pyramid more like a rocket ship.
And in this future, both humans and AI play their parts.
By asking the right questions, by gaining expertise to intuit and apply judgement, and by directing the machines to execute on important tasks, Lawyers will continue to be the scaffolding that facilitates society — on so many important levels.
And the good news is, these are things law school teaches today.
This isn’t about replacing lawyers. It’s about evolving what we do.
As such, law schools must equip lawyers to handle these new processes, while still imbuing the judgment layer that is necessary for our system to run and improve.
The New Way To Work
Take something you know well. Tell ChatGPT it’s an expert in [x] and ask it to write a memo on the topic.
Now start a second draft, rewrite the prompt and probe it further. In this second draft, spend 30 minutes of uninterrupted time asking ChatGPT to dig deeper, provide thoughtful critiques, and cite things. Try using the Canvas feature, which is brilliant. Remember the value through engagement point above? Really engage with it.
What do you see?
Legal specific tools are even more powerful, but the difference should be proof enough that expertise matters — and highlights our need to master these emerging tools.
Law schools must rise to the challenge, and specialized AI programs on the horizon promise deeper skills for tomorrow’s lawyers.
The Same Way To Work
This technology, even taken to its highest and most productive levels, still requires asking the right questions. We need to be conductors of our own symphonies. The lawyers of the future will be expertise generalists, with specialized legal machines, to run their practices.
In law, as with all innovations, the focus should also be
on things that don’t change: simplicity, organization,
precision.
For our team of builders at Bloomberg Law, building for this future means focusing on things that don’t change. Don’t just improve the railroad, improve the transportation of people. Don’t improve the Polaroid, improve how people capture moments.
Lawyers will need to manage increased complexity in this future, and they’ll need the tools to access and organize that complexity, regardless of how the content is created. It’s about focusing on fundamentals that guide us, even as technology evolves.
Give It to the People
The best thing a firm can do is put AI in the hands of its attorneys — without specific use-cases. This is counter to the current thinking — “don’t just give me a tool and say it can do anything! We need a specific use case and problem in order to deploy software.” Sure, firms are bombarded with new AI tools. But just pick one (or a few).
The people closest to the work are the ones best suited to find creative ways to use new tech to solve problems and advance humanity. Google’s “20% time” which granted employees the freedom to pursue any idea that inspired them, created Gmail. 3M’s “15% rule” triggered the development of the Post-it Note, a multimillion-dollar invention born from an engineer’s tinkering rather than a top-down directive.
During other waves of innovation, numerous breakthroughs were generated by empowering those closest to the problems to experiment. There are already a number of quality law firms loosening archaic policies and getting technology into their lawyers’ hands; all law firms should be doing the same.
The Concern — and Why Caution is Important
Relying on AI could certainly erode core lawyerly abilities — critical thinking, independent research, nuanced argumentation. Risks of skills atrophy and the erosion of judgment are very real concerns.
The very essence of being a quality lawyer is at stake if we let technology dictate legal analysis instead of the other way around.
Responsible adoption of AI can be a force-multiplier if we keep in mind what we can’t automate: empathy, moral reasoning, and accountability.
These elements keep justice grounded in humanity. And though this is a short paragraph, we must train and build with these concerns at the forefront of our efforts.
Conclusion: The Path Forward
AI can give us incredible tools, but it’s the hard work — the engagement, the collaboration — that will drive humanity forward. Our industry is poised to engage and collaborate with Ai to do more, tackle harder problems, and pursue truer justice.
And that will be worth all the effort.
Mat Rotenberg. (2025, January 13). What Does The Future Lawyer Look Like?https://medium.com/@mathew.rotenberg/what-does-the-future-lawyer-look-like-e52e9e22f3a1
Mat Rotenberg is the Director of Workflow Solutions at Bloomberg Law.
Prior to joining Bloomberg Law, Mat was the co-founder and CEO of Dashboard Legal, which was acquired by Bloomberg Law in April 2024, and spent 7 years as a corporate attorney with Skadden and Akin Gump.
This is the opinion of the author and has not been approved by the ABA House of Delegates or Board of Governors.
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