The tipping point

Call it the “Rise of the Robots”, “The Second Machine Age” or “The Fourth Industrial Revolution”—whatever fancy phrase you like—but it is pretty clear that our economy, politics and even the practice of law itself is changing under our feet. The potential impact is staggering. Losses of between a third and a half of all existing jobs in the economies of countries like the UK and US are predicted. And, legal services—for better and for worse—will be affected just as much as car manufacturing. A couple of years ago, this kind of assertion would provoke an avalanche of nay-sayers. Now, you can see a growing realisation that a tipping point is approaching.