Key facts
- Lawyers are warned they are accountable for junior employees' use of AI.
- AI is expected to handle repetitive tasks previously done by junior lawyers.
- Junior lawyers will focus on more meaningful tasks requiring critical thinking.
- The legal profession has adapted to technological changes before.
Lawyers have been cautioned that they will be held responsible for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by junior staff within their firms. Jo Stevenson, people and culture director at Simpson Grierson, stated at the LawFest conference that AI is fundamentally altering the role of junior lawyers by taking over repetitive tasks. She emphasized that firms must intentionally assign meaningful tasks to juniors to cultivate critical thinking skills necessary for them to become future senior practitioners, otherwise the profession risks becoming a 'dying breed'.
Hayden Wilson, chair of Dentons New Zealand, also speaking at the conference, addressed the hype surrounding AI potentially replacing lawyers, calling it hyperbolic. He stressed the importance of creating psychologically safe environments for lawyers as their jobs evolve. Stevenson added that law firms have a responsibility to invest resources in managing the anxiety and uncertainty associated with AI's rapid integration.