How is AI changing legal education and training?
AI is disrupting traditional legal education by automating tasks once used for on-the-job training, prompting calls for overhauling how lawyers are developed and licensed.
In 2025, the legal profession stands at a crossroads, grappling with the transformative potential of artificial intelligence. AI-powered legal tools have sparked intense debate, with some hailing them as revolutionary and others dismissing them as overhyped. As law firms increasingly adopt AI, the question remains: is this technology a game-changer, or is it falling short of its promise?
Over the past two years, the legal industry has shifted from experimenting with AI to integrating it into daily workflows. While adoption varies, one thing is clear: AI is no longer a novelty but a practical tool in many law firms.
Recent studies reveal that Large Language Models (LLMs) now outperform lawyers in specific tasks. Document summarization tops the list, with 62 law firms ranking it as their primary use case. AI also excels in code creation and answering legal questions, though these applications are less common.
Despite progress, misconceptions persist. About one-third of people believe AI will handle most legal tasks by 2025—a view far from reality. This gap highlights the need for better understanding of AI’s limitations.
Experts warn against overspending on premium AI tools. For smaller firms, free AI options have improved significantly, offering cost-effective solutions for legal research.
AI’s rise is reshaping legal education. As technology takes over tasks once handled by junior lawyers, there’s growing concern about how new attorneys will develop essential skills.
With AI managing document-based work, human skills like building client trust and empathy are becoming more valuable. These traits, often overlooked in traditional legal education, are now critical differentiators.
The Canadian Legal Summit in October 2025 reflects the industry’s recognition that AI’s impact requires collaboration. The event unites legal leaders, technologists, and innovators to address challenges like risk management and burnout prevention.
In 2025, the question is no longer whether to adopt AI but how to integrate it effectively while preserving the human elements of the legal profession. As the industry navigates this transformation, one thing is clear: the future of legal work will be shaped by collaboration, not isolation.
Jordan Furlong of Law21 emphasizes the need for a complete overhaul of lawyer development systems. He highlights that licensing graduates before they gain full competence is becoming increasingly problematic as technology absorbs many tasks traditionally handled by junior lawyers during on-the-job training.
The Canadian Legal Summit, scheduled for October 2025, underscores the importance of collaboration in addressing AI’s impact on the legal profession. This event brings together law firm leaders, general counsel, innovation specialists, early-career lawyers, and technologists to discuss critical topics such as AI risk management, ethical considerations, and burnout prevention.
The summit reflects a growing understanding that no single group within the legal profession holds all the answers to navigating AI-driven changes. The future of legal work is expected to be shaped by collaborative intelligence across the industry rather than isolated efforts.
As AI continues to evolve, the legal profession is increasingly recognizing the importance of balancing technological advancements with the uniquely human aspects of legal practice. The ability to build client relationships, demonstrate empathy, and provide ethical guidance will remain at the heart of what it means to be a lawyer in the age of AI.
The integration of AI into the legal profession is undeniably transformative, bringing both opportunities and challenges. As highlighted by experts like Jordan Furlong, the traditional models of legal education and training are facing unprecedented disruptions. The Canadian Legal Summit 2025 serves as a beacon for the industry, emphasizing the need for collaboration to navigate AI’s impact effectively. The future of law will undoubtedly require a balance between technological advancements and the irreplaceable human skills of empathy, ethical judgment, and client relationship-building. As the legal profession evolves, the focus must remain on fostering collaborative intelligence to ensure that AI enhances, rather than replaces, the core values of legal practice.
AI is disrupting traditional legal education by automating tasks once used for on-the-job training, prompting calls for overhauling how lawyers are developed and licensed.
The summit aims to bring together legal professionals and technologists to discuss AI’s impact, focusing on risk management, ethics, and preventing burnout in the legal industry.
Collaborative intelligence refers to the combined efforts of lawyers, technologists, and other stakeholders to navigate AI-driven changes, emphasizing teamwork over isolated solutions.
Skills such as building client relationships, demonstrating empathy, and providing ethical guidance will remain central to legal practice, as these are areas where human expertise is irreplaceable.