AI has changed the legal world. Its impact is profound, influencing everything from how law and advisory firms are organized, to the structure and speed of our advice and even the way we interact with clients. Tasks that once required days of manual work can now be completed in seconds, forcing the profession to rethink its entire operating model.
For decades, many law and advisory firms have relied on a pyramid-shaped hierarchy: a wide base of junior associates carrying out legal research, drafting, and other routine tasks, with a narrow tier of senior lawyers overseeing client relationships and more complex work.
AI is disrupting that foundation. With legal research, case preparation, legal drafting and lower-complexity tasks becoming more and more efficiently handled by AI tools, the need for large junior teams is diminishing. The economic and operational logic behind the traditional pyramid is weakening, making leaner, flatter structures, up until now more common in boutique or highly specialized firms, increasingly attractive. In such models, a higher proportion of experienced lawyers can deliver senior-led, strategic advice without layers of internal review.
This transformation is not only structural but also cultural. The next generation of legal professionals will need to bring value in areas AI cannot easily replace: strategic thinking, nuanced judgment, client trust, and creative problem-solving. Meanwhile, firms will need to rethink career paths, training and how they attract and retain top talent in a less hierarchical environment.
AI will not eliminate the need for lawyers, but it will redefine their roles and the way firms operate. Those who adapt quickly, embracing flat structures, reimagining workflows, and investing in the uniquely human aspects of legal work, will be the ones who thrive in the new legal landscape. The legal profession has always evolved with technology. AI is the next, and perhaps the most significant, chapter.
