Your field-guide to AI — what it means for your job and what to do about it
Lawyers & Attorneys
AI legal research and contract review tools are cutting hours of billable work to minutes, forcing the legal profession to rethink how it delivers value.
Current AI Tools
Harvey AI is the leading AI platform purpose-built for legal work. Backed by over $800 million in total funding (including from OpenAI) [1], it is used by elite law firms including Allen & Overy, A&O Shearman, and other AmLaw 100 firms for legal research, contract analysis, and document drafting.
CoCounsel (by Thomson Reuters / Casetext) is an AI legal assistant integrated with Westlaw. It performs legal research, document review, contract analysis, and deposition preparation. Thomson Reuters acquired Casetext for $650 million specifically for this AI capability [2].
Lexis+ AI from LexisNexis provides AI-powered legal research with linked citations and hallucination-resistant answers grounded in the Lexis database of cases and statutes.
Ironclad AI automates contract lifecycle management – drafting, reviewing, and negotiating contracts with AI assistance. It is used by companies like L’Oreal, Mastercard, and Staples.
EvenUp uses AI to generate demand letters for personal injury claims, analyzing medical records and case law to build value arguments.
Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 is being adopted by law firms for document drafting, email management, and meeting summaries, integrating AI into the daily workflow tools lawyers already use.
Essential Skills Today
AI legal research proficiency is increasingly expected. Firms that use Harvey, CoCounsel, or Lexis+ AI expect associates to be productive with these tools. Understanding how to use AI for research while verifying citations and checking for hallucinations is the critical skill – AI legal tools still fabricate case citations.
Contract review with AI assistance is becoming standard for due diligence, M&A transactions, and routine agreements. Knowing how to use AI to flag issues while applying legal judgment to the results is the expectation.
Prompt engineering for legal queries – structuring questions to get useful, accurate results from AI tools – is a practical daily skill. The ability to explain AI-assisted work to clients and supervising partners matters for trust and transparency.
12-24 Month Outlook
AI is moving from research assistance to drafting assistance. Expect AI tools to produce first drafts of briefs, memos, contracts, and correspondence that lawyers then review and refine. This changes the workflow from “build from scratch” to “edit and enhance.”
Understanding AI limitations in legal contexts becomes critical. AI does not understand legal strategy, client relationships, or the persuasive elements of advocacy. Lawyers who over-rely on AI without applying judgment will face malpractice risks – several sanctions have already been issued for AI-fabricated citations submitted to courts [3].
New practice areas in AI law are emerging: AI regulatory compliance, AI intellectual property, algorithmic liability, and data privacy. Lawyers who develop expertise in these areas will be in high demand as AI regulation expands.
5-Year Outlook
The legal profession will transform but not shrink significantly. The BLS projects 4% growth for lawyers from 2024 to 2034 with roughly 31,500 annual openings [4]. There are over 1.3 million active lawyers in the U.S. [5].
AI will handle much of the research, document review, and first-draft work that currently consumes associate time. The value shifts toward legal judgment, strategy, client relationships, courtroom advocacy, and negotiation – skills that AI cannot replicate.
The displacement risk is medium overall. Junior associates doing research-heavy and document-review work face the most change. Senior partners providing strategic counsel and client management face low risk. The billable hour model may face pressure as tasks that took hours now take minutes.
Large law firms are investing heavily in AI. Smaller firms that adopt AI tools can compete more effectively with larger competitors. Solo practitioners and small firms may actually benefit most from AI by accessing capabilities previously available only to big firms.
Action Items
Try an AI legal research tool this week. If your firm uses Harvey, CoCounsel, or Lexis+ AI, run your next research query through it. If not, try using Claude or ChatGPT for legal research on a low-stakes matter and carefully verify every citation.
Practice AI-assisted contract review. Take a routine contract and run it through an AI review tool. Compare the AI’s flagged issues to what you would have caught manually. Build your understanding of where AI excels and where it misses nuance.
Learn about AI ethics and malpractice risks in legal practice. Read your state bar’s guidance on AI use in legal practice. Understanding the ethical obligations around AI – including disclosure, verification, and confidentiality – protects you and your clients [6].
Develop expertise in an AI-adjacent legal specialty. AI regulation, data privacy, algorithmic liability, and AI intellectual property are growing practice areas. Even a CLE course or two in these areas positions you for emerging demand.
Build your strategic and client-facing skills. As AI handles more research and drafting, invest in negotiation training, courtroom advocacy, client relationship management, and business development. These human skills become your primary differentiator.
Sources
- Harvey AI Funding and Valuation — TechCrunch coverage of Harvey’s funding rounds totaling $800M+
- Thomson Reuters Acquires Casetext for $650M — Legal Dive coverage of the CoCounsel acquisition
- ABA Guidance on AI in Legal Practice — American Bar Association resources on AI ethics and court sanctions for AI-fabricated citations
- BLS Occupational Outlook: Lawyers — Employment projections 2024-2034
- ABA National Lawyer Population Survey 2025 — Active lawyer count in the United States
- State Bar AI Ethics Guidelines — Resources on ethical obligations around AI use in law practice