header-logo header-logo

Law firms still unprepared for artificial intelligence

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

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Corporate governance and company law specialist joins the team

Excello Law—Heather Horsewood & Darren Barwick

Excello Law—Heather Horsewood & Darren Barwick

North west team expands with senior private client and property hires

Ward Hadaway—Paul Wigham

Ward Hadaway—Paul Wigham

Firm boosts corporate team in Newcastle to support high-growth technology businesses

NEWS

NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925

HERBERT SMITH STAFF PENSION SCHEME (THE “SCHEME”)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER SECTION 27 OF THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
Law firm HFW is offering clients lawyers on call for dawn raids, sanctions issues and other regulatory emergencies
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961
back-to-top-scroll