header-logo header-logo

12 February 2025
Issue: 8104 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Artificial intelligence , Career focus
printer mail-detail

Law firms still unprepared for artificial intelligence

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

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
back-to-top-scroll