Bench & Bar March/April 2025

LAW PRACATICE MANAGEMENT

RE-SKILLING THE LEGAL WORKFORCE FOR THE AI REVOLUTION BY STEPHEN EMBRY

A I will fundamentally change how future work is done by automating repetitive tasks, enabling more efficient workflows, and creating opportunities for work that was previously not practical. This transition requires not only technological adoption but also a cultural and operational shift within many law firms. For the past several years, I have attended the annual consumer electronics show held in Las Vegas, CES (sponsored by the Con sumer Technology Association). The Show consists of multiple exhibit halls, interesting keynote addresses by business leaders and often fascinating and challenging educa tional sessions. With over 141,000 attendees its quite a spectacle. I attend to learn more about what is new in technology, in general, and to try to figure out how technological developments might impact the practice of law. This year the focus, as you might expect, was on AI and Gen AI. One CES panel presentation tackled ques tions that should be on all of our minds: • What do all these AI tools mean for the future practice of law? • What do lawyers and law firms and, for that matter, those who work for law firms need to do to prepare for the brave new world?

These facts are given both for business— and law firms. To be competitive, lawyers and legal professionals will need to focus on higher-value work. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE WORKFORCE? What does that mean for the workforce? Some, maybe most, workers will not have the same amount and kind of work to do as they have had. That could be a problem. But on the plus side, the panel cited statis tics that support the idea that there are a lot more things that could be substantively accomplished if workers didn’t have to waste time on unnecessary tasks. Granted, the workers in question were higher up the food chain in their organizations. All panelists agreed that as AI begins to do more, management will need to shift what they expect workers to do. And workers will need to have new and different skill sets. Management will need new ways to assess worker performance. A NEW GAMEPLAN There are two ways to accomplish the shift. The first is to simply replace the existing workforce with a new workforce that has the requisite skills. But to do so would mean getting rid of good workers who best

The panel presentation in question was entitled Embracing AI: Revolutionizing the Future of Work and featured several HR/AI experts. While none came from a law firm background, the issues they raised should resonate with the legal profession. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE? The panelists generally agreed that busi nesses need to realize that the new AI tools compel them to rethink how employees do their work and how they can best use the AI tools at their disposal. Businesses and workers need to accept the fact that AI tools will: • Eliminate the nonproductive work that humans now do — preparing minutes, creating action items, summarizing documents, etc. That work will be done by AI. • AI programs will enable more important, productive work to be done much more efficiently, elim inating work humans now spend time doing and, • Finally, and importantly, AI will enable work that was impossible to do before because it took too long or cost too much.

32 march/april 2025