AI has turned the business world on its head. No more so than in the legal sector, as knowledge-intensive roles are going toe-to-toe with knowledge-based tech, it’s driving a significant shift in the industry.
A lot of the attention has been on the implications of the surge in investment in AI for jobs, especially at the junior end.
Within the broader professional sector, there have already been layoffs and curtailment of graduate programmes. In the legal sector, a few redundancies have been reported at law firms, but there is a big question mark over the traditional legal career pathway.
Max Junestrand, CEO of legal tech firm Legora, told City AM that the future of hiring in the legal market will be different due to AI.
“I think the way you hire lawyers will change a bit… more increasingly we’re seeing lawyers with varied backgrounds. They might have a minor in computer science… entrepreneurial background… because knowing the law, yes, that will be one thing, but AI will also know the law.”
“So the question is, what do you bring on top of that?” he stated.
However, on the flip side, he also pointed out that this surge in AI has created “new paths for lawyers that never existed before”.
“We were very early on to hire or to create a type of role that we call legal engineers…. which is a huge focus for the UK, and one of the biggest teams [in London].”
Legal engineers are ex-practitioners, so they used to practice corporate law or be solicitors, but also have an enormous tech interest. These include associates in their third or fourth year, or senior associates who could have made partner but chose to take a different pathway into tech.
Before the surge of legal tech firms that provide AI to law firms, the only other option was to go in-house, “which is also great”, said Junestrand, “but I think many of them are very ambitious.” Now, with new opportunities created by AI and legal tech, talented lawyers are increasingly exploring alternative career paths that blend their legal expertise with technology and innovation.
The legal engineers at Legora help clients implement AI, often working closely with them to build custom workflows and templates.
Surge of Legora over two years
The surge in AI has seen a flurry of legal tech start-ups hit the market, including Legora, which was founded in early summer 2023. In its short, two-year history, Legora’s valuation increased dramatically, from $50m to $1.8bn.
Legora provides a web-based AI application for law firms and in-house legal teams. The tool assists with reviewing, drafting, and researching legal documents. The company also offers a “Legora Portal”, a white-label solution allowing law firms’ clients to access AI-powered legal workflows.
With offices in New York, London, Stockholm, Sydney, and more, the start-up has a long list of big-name clients, including Carlsberg, DWF, Mishcon de Reya, and Deloitte.
However, the client looming large in Junestrand’s mind is the magic circle firm Linklaters. He explained, “When we rolled out with Linklaters, it was a global deployment for all their offices, all the lawyers, and all the practice areas.”
He added that this global deployment required a significant internal shift for Linklaters: “Their internal ways of working changed… and we are huge change advocates and help them on that journey, because for us, it’s incredibly important that our clients are successful with the tool.”
On the back of the rollout with Legora, Linklaters revealed last week that it had, for the first time, recruited a team of 20 AI lawyers to deploy across its global network.
The model is working well for Legora; the business has already expanded from 40 to 220 employees in a year, and it is set to ramp up its headcount next year, with an “aggressive” hiring plan for London.
“Our hiring plans for London, specifically for 2026, the best way to phrase it is probably extremely aggressive or fast paced and ambitious… because we’re seeing so much pull for our software and our mission here,” Junestrand stated.
However, not all have had such positive news recently. Last month, City AM revealed London-based legal firm Robin AI was put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace after fundraising ambitions fell short.
The legal start-up was unable to close a $50m (£38m) funding round and is currently exploring its future options.
Commenting on this, Junestrand told City AM: “From my perspective, they had sort of two parallel business models, one of which was direct legal services that they were providing to corporates. They were actually providing the legal service itself, and the second one was the software business.
“As an up-and-coming company, you need to focus… I think it becomes very difficult to have two business models, two different focuses, and kind of rally your business around that.”
He added that he also thought Robin AI’s timing was inopportune, as they were founded pre-Generative AI, and they did not make the “pivot from pre-LLMs to LLMS fast enough or well enough”, which would have hurt them.
“However, I have huge respect for the team there and the founders,” Junestrand adds.
As large firms, keen to be seen as ‘Global Elite‘, continue to invest in technology, those sitting back and doing nothing are at “biggest risk”, says Junestrand.
“In the coming years, your legal team, whether that’s in-house or in a law firm, will be better off being savvy with the AI technology that we’re now starting to leverage,” he added.