The average salary for new lawyers has fallen, but it still hasn`t pushed back to where it was when it was worst during the recession. Hiring for a junior lawyer and law firm positions is also declining, suggesting that no new graduates or legal professionals are needed at law firms across the country. Law is not a dying profession. Even with the introduction of technology, there will always be a need for lawyers, as law is a complex issue that involves people and dispute resolution. An article published a few months ago identified a number of professions that are threatened with extinction, or a reasonable facsimile of them, and it is not surprising, at least to me, that the law is moving in that direction. Law school is expensive and student loans aren`t cheaper either, so if someone chooses to pursue the legal profession, they must be able to deal with this impasse or avoid it by waiting for many law graduates who have entered the profession. In fact, many law graduates no longer take legal jobs or jobs that pay much less than they should be paid. The survey, Before the J.D., found that students want to go to law school for desirable reasons: careers in politics, government or public service; they are passionate about law (wait until they start law school or practice); they want to help others or be useful to society by giving back; They want to work for social change. Do you see anything about making a lot of money in this list? Partner at Biglaw? I don`t. However, if that first student loan payment hits them in the face, they may have no choice but to change direction.
In the meantime, let them be ambitious. The truth of law school, legal practice and student debt will soon be a reality. Hopefully, the profession will still be there when they look for their first job. It is likely that the legal profession will lose some of its members due to the rise of machines, at least for day-to-day tasks. But at least in the medium term, lawyers will still be needed for their “all-too-human” judgment and empathy skills, which still need to be replaced by machines. Despite the inherent malleability of lawyers, many claim that the field of law is dying due to the automation of the industry. The tasks of reading, document creation and research are being left to AI and the real impact of these trends is now being felt, with “lean” companies with alternative business models popping up everywhere. From time to time, or more often, we hear about the death of the legal profession. Whether it`s robot lawyers, the apocalypse, or the apocalypse of robo-lawyers, you don`t have to worry about the death of the legal profession. The profession is going nowhere. So, while one report says lawyers are largely threatened with extinction, another is not so quick to say: children still want to become lawyers. A recent study examined why students want to become lawyers.
Let us agree that most, if not all, are at least five years away from obtaining a law degree and graduating from the bar, but if this survey reflects how young people perceive the practice of law, there may be hope for the profession, of course, which assumes that there will be jobs. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the world in ways we never thought possible, with most countries plunging into the biggest recession since 2008. Industries have been hit hard, with many businesses closing or going online to cut costs and save on overhead. The legal profession has also been surprisingly hard hit, many lawyers and law students are at an “impasse” – why? On the directional side, the California State Bar is considering revising several ethics rules that critics say impede access to justice. Reviews of non-lawyer assets and unauthorized legal practice would recognize that new technologies are now at work in this profession and that law firm ownership may not be feared but welcome. This article identifies the five main changes that have taken place or are occurring in the legal profession: 1. How technological solutions have transformed the right from a fully personalized service to a service similar to a commercial product; 2. How globalization and outsourcing are disrupting traditional expectations of legal work where there is a legal need and shifting production from high-cost to low-cost centres; 3. How managed legal service providers – which are cost-effective, technology-driven and process-driven – threaten traditional business practices; 4.
How technology platforms will reduce the importance of business; and 5. How artificial intelligence and machine learning systems will take over a significant portion of lawyers` work by the late 2020s. The article explains how these changes have changed or are changing legal practice, and explains how institutions within the law must respond if they want to remain relevant (or even survive). More generally, it examines the social impact of a legal environment in which a high percentage of legal practice is exercised by institutions outside the legal profession. The conclusion, according to Henderson, is inevitable: the profession must change its ethical rules to allow collaboration with other disciplines. The conundrum is obvious: access to justice may well be thwarted by rules that have served the public and the profession, but now seem outdated and do not meet their needs. Ethical rules serve to protect the public; However, it is the same ethical rules that strangle the profession`s ability to serve the public by limiting how and by whom legal services can be provided. Something is needed if one wants to fulfill and improve the mission of false protection.
