Artificial intelligence is transforming how legal professionals work, how clients access legal services, and how organizations deliver value. While there is a great deal of discussion about the technology itself, I believe the more important conversation is about people.
Specifically, how do we prepare the next generation of lawyers for an AI-driven future?
This question is one that I think about often, both as a legal innovation leader and as an educator. The legal profession is evolving quickly, and legal education must evolve alongside it. Our goal should not simply be to teach students how to use new tools. It should be to help them develop the skills, mindset, and adaptability they will need throughout their careers.
The Practice of Law Is Changing
When I attended law school, artificial intelligence was not part of the curriculum. Students focused on legal research, writing, advocacy, and doctrinal analysis. These skills remain essential today. However, the environment in which lawyers practice has changed dramatically.
Many legal tasks that once required significant time and effort can now be completed more efficiently with the assistance of AI tools.
Research, document drafting, contract analysis, and information synthesis are all being transformed by technology. This does not mean lawyers are becoming less important. In fact, it means that the role of the lawyer is becoming more strategic.
Lawyers must now be able to evaluate information generated by AI, identify risks, exercise professional judgment, and provide guidance that technology alone cannot deliver. The ability to think critically and communicate effectively is becoming even more valuable as technology advances.
Technology Literacy Is No Longer Optional
One of the most important skills future lawyers will need is technology literacy. I do not believe every lawyer needs to become a programmer or software engineer. However, lawyers should understand how modern technologies work, what their limitations are, and how they can be applied responsibly.
This includes understanding concepts such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language models, automation, and data governance. Lawyers who understand these concepts will be better positioned to advise clients, collaborate with technology teams, and make informed decisions within their organizations.
Technology literacy should become a core component of legal education. Students should graduate with a practical understanding of the tools they are likely to encounter in practice and the opportunities and risks associated with their use.
Teaching Critical Thinking in the Age of AI
One concern I often hear is that AI will reduce the need for analytical thinking. I believe the opposite is true.
As AI tools become more capable, lawyers will need stronger critical thinking skills than ever before. AI can generate answers, but it cannot reliably determine whether those answers are accurate, complete, or appropriate in a particular context. That responsibility remains with the lawyer.
Future legal professionals must learn how to question assumptions, evaluate outputs, identify errors, and exercise independent judgment. These are skills that should be embedded throughout the legal curriculum.
Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for legal reasoning, we should view it as a tool that makes strong legal reasoning even more important.
The Importance of Interdisciplinary Learning
My own career has been shaped by both engineering and law. Having exposure to different disciplines has allowed me to approach problems from multiple perspectives and build bridges between different professional communities.
I believe future lawyers will benefit from a similar approach. Legal education should encourage students to engage with business, technology, design, data analytics, and project management. The legal challenges of tomorrow will often require collaboration across multiple disciplines.
Lawyers who can speak the language of technology and business will be particularly valuable in organizations that are navigating digital transformation.
Preparing Students for Continuous Change
One of the biggest mistakes we can make is assuming that today’s technology will remain unchanged. The tools students learn about today may look very different five years from now.
For that reason, legal education should focus not only on current technologies but also on adaptability. Students need to develop the ability to learn continuously throughout their careers.
The most successful lawyers of the future may not be those who know the most about a particular tool. Instead, they may be those who are most willing to embrace change, learn new skills, and remain curious about emerging developments.
In many ways, learning how to learn may become one of the most important professional skills of all.
Preserving the Human Side of Law
As we integrate more technology into legal practice, we must also remember what makes the profession unique. Law is fundamentally about people. Clients seek legal advice during some of the most important and challenging moments of their lives and businesses.
Empathy, communication, trust, ethics, and professional judgment cannot be automated. These human qualities will continue to distinguish great lawyers regardless of how advanced technology becomes.
The future lawyer must be both technologically capable and deeply human. Legal education should help students develop both dimensions of their professional identity.
Looking Towards the Future
I am optimistic about the future of the legal profession. Artificial intelligence presents tremendous opportunities to improve efficiency, expand access to justice, and create new ways of delivering legal services. At the same time, it challenges us to rethink how we educate and prepare future lawyers.
Our responsibility as educators, practitioners, and leaders is to ensure that the next generation enters the profession ready to succeed in a changing world. That means teaching technology literacy, strengthening critical thinking, encouraging interdisciplinary learning, and fostering adaptability.
Most importantly, it means helping students understand that while technology will continue to evolve, the core purpose of the legal profession remains the same. Lawyers exist to solve problems, serve clients, and contribute to a fair and effective justice system. AI may change how we do that work, but it does not change why we do it.
The lawyers who thrive in the years ahead will be those who combine legal expertise with technological understanding, curiosity, and a commitment to lifelong learning. I believe that is an exciting future, and one that legal education should be preparing students for today.