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Law firms still unprepared for artificial intelligence

12 February 2025
Issue: 8104 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Artificial intelligence , Career focus
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Law firms and legal departments may need to do more to bring their workforce up to speed on artificial intelligence (AI), according to the Future Lawyers Report 2025, published last week.

While 53% of early-career lawyers polled say they feel prepared for the changes brought about by AI, 47% still aren’t prepared for this ‘uncharted territory’ or are unsure how AI will affect them, saying they ‘haven’t been given sufficient training’. The report urges employers to ‘help junior lawyers develop the skills they will need in the future’. 

The report by alternative legal services provider Flex Legal gauges the career hopes, values, concerns and frustrations of trainees, paralegals and junior lawyers up to three years’ PQE.

Mary Bonsor, founder of Flex Legal, said: ‘This is the fourth annual edition of the report. We’ve seen new themes emerge, some come and go and others remain stubbornly constant.’

View a full copy of the report here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

Investment banking veteran appointed as chairman to drive global growth

NEWS
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
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