Artificial intelligence is wiping out some entry-level work that trains the next generation of elite lawyers.

Why it matters: Big Law's entire business model depends on armies of junior associates learning on the job. If AI erases that rung, the profession faces a long-term talent crisis.

The big picture: The legal profession's most important classroom, the early-career grind of junior and summer associates, is quietly reshaping, as the path to partnership is being rewritten in real-time.

Firms are racing to "extract the knowledge of their lawyers" and embed it in AI workflows, client portals and self-service tools, Stanford Law professor David Freeman Engstrom tells Axios.
That could mean "getting ready for a world in which you need fewer human lawyers," he said.

Yes, but: Tiffany J. Tucker, assistant dean for career development at the University of Houston Law Center says AI may create new legal jobs rather than erase entry-level ones.

Students with AI skills are becoming "the more attractive candidates," she said. "If you don't have prowess using AI, you're going to be left behind."
Engstrom said AI also may allow for new legal business to emerge for needs not met currently.

State of play: Firms are not just experimenting with AI — they're restructuring around it.

Major firms use AI for research, litigation prep, document review and case law.
Judges themselves are beginning to use AI tools for drafting and summarizing opinions.

Zoom in: A&O Shearman and Harvey announced AI agents for complex legal workflows, to be used internally and sold to clients and other law firms.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison began testing AI tools like Harvey across its lawyers in 2023 and has since embedded them into everyday legal work, from drafting to document analysis.

Friction point: Some major firms are already adjusting their headcounts as the "efficiency paradox" takes hold. AI speeds up work, reducing the need for billable human hours.

Clifford Chance, one of the largest international law firms, announced last year it was cutting jobs, citing increased adoption of AI tools, per the Financial Times.
A major 2025 legal market report found firms have "reduced the pace" of associate hiring or cut the size of summer associate programs — the high-paid internships used to wine and dine potential associates later.

What they're saying: Nik Guggenberger, a University of Houston Law Center professor, tells Axios that junior work has always served two purposes: billing and training.

"If more and more of that work that trains junior associates is being automated, then there's no real material anymore for them to train on."
Guggenberger said if the profession moves to partners and AI agents, it becomes very hard to break in.

Between the lines: If AI removes the low-level reps, firms must invent a new apprenticeship system or risk creating lawyers who can supervise AI outputs without having built the judgment to know when those outputs are wrong.

Engstrom said the next year will be crucial as firms figure out how to use client data, build AI workflows and answer sticky consent questions.
As AI automates some law firm work, the traditional "leverage model"— the pyramid system where a few partners sit atop a massive base of billing associates — is facing a structural threat.

The bottom line: The future lawyer isn't a document reviewer. They are a "symphony conductor" who pieces together AI outputs, data and legal scenarios, Engstrom said.

Those who can't wield the baton — and the algorithm — will find themselves without an orchestra.