Over his 30-year career in corporate law, Nandan Nelivigi has seen many forms of automation gradually change the tasks assigned to first-year associates.
TL;DR
- AI necessitates rethinking apprenticeships for knowledge-based professions like law and accounting.
- Junior professionals will verify AI output and learn new skills faster than before.
- Companies must update training to include AI oversight and mentorship strategies.
- New business models may emerge, replacing traditional billing with value-based services.
As a partner at the global firm White & Case in New York, Nelivigi remembers that when he first started his career with a new Harvard Law degree, his responsibilities involved recording minutes during client discussions. These served as educational opportunities where he closely watched experienced associates and partners demonstrate their expertise. For junior attorneys engaged in litigation, considerable time was also dedicated to research involving numerous documents.
Over the years, certain initial legal tasks have been automated. However, the advent of generative AI and AI agents—applications capable of independently executing specific, customized functions—has sped up this progression and introduced a heightened degree of effectiveness. This development prompts significant inquiries regarding the capabilities of a first-year attorney that AI cannot replicate. This also extends to considering the appropriate function for junior professionals in diverse fields reliant on knowledge, such as taxation and accounting.
Automation enhances productivity, allowing professionals to concentrate on crucial tasks such as client strategy and advisory services. In an AI-driven environment, even junior staff contribute by learning to verify AI-generated information and identify any inaccuracies in the outcomes.
Consequently, a junior associate in an AI-powered legal or accounting practice might complete assignments previously requiring several years of professional background more rapidly. Naturally, it will remain vital for these individuals to gain the comprehensive human insight and proficiency needed to become firm leaders in 15 to 20 years.
Ultimately, substituting entry-level staff with AI isn't feasible unless businesses and society are prepared for AI agents to become the exclusive professionals in these vital fields as the older generation exits the workforce. This is a future few would find acceptable.
Educational institutions offering law degrees and pre-law studies are actively planning how to prepare emerging talent for a future shaped by AI. For law firms to maintain their competitive edge, it's crucial that their newly qualified professionals are equipped to navigate workplaces undergoing AI-driven changes. Firms poised for the future prioritize innovative approaches to mentorship and skill development.
“A lot of the process with AI is not going to be happening in a big conference room where people can observe how others do it,’’ Nelivigi told us. “It’s going to be happening on your personal computer, on your screen or on your phone. So there needs to be a different approach to conveying some of the basic skills on how people will need to work and be trained — and to train themselves to some extent.”
The Crucial Questions
At Thomson Reuters, we frequently grapple with the same inquiries that Nelivigi is contemplating, and this isn't solely for our internal recruitment and development. We recognize that our strategy for the database technologies and consulting offerings we deliver to legal professionals, as well as to those in tax and accounting, must account for the evolving landscape of junior positions and their requisite education.
For many years, machine learning and different types of AI have significantly enhanced the power and efficiency of these services. However, the emergence of agentic AI marks a substantial shift for these fields, as well as for society in general, concerning how career trajectories are shaped.
Thus far, AI's effect on entry-level jobs hasn't altered hiring trends. In the legal field, for instance, the recruitment of junior lawyers has recently been at record levels. Furthermore, within accounting professions, the persistent difficulty lies in locating enough talent to fill the entry-level ranks as seasoned CPAs depart and younger individuals possessing the necessary expertise choose alternative career paths.
This year's edition of our yearly “Future of Professionals” report surveyed almost 2,300 knowledge workers, revealing that 81% have experimented with AI-powered tools for initiating or modifying their tasks at least once. However, a mere 22% of their employers have implemented and shared a distinct AI strategy. These figures suggest that regardless of their recruitment methods, few professional organizations have deliberately altered their training protocols for new hires to accommodate AI usage.
Hiring managers and AI natives entering professions should begin strategic thinking now. It's evident that training and management in this evolving landscape must include overseeing both people and AI.
Evolving Business Models
A frequent worry I encounter from the professionals I converse with is that the growing adoption of AI tools by junior staff might hinder the cultivation of their on-the-job cognitive-reasoning skills — the fresh mindsets that a lawyer or accountant gains through collaboration with experienced peers. Consequently, management and mentorship strategies need to incorporate both individuals and the emerging technology.
“There’s no question,’’ Nelivigi said, “that we need to focus on new types of specific training to make up for what the young people are losing in the new AI environment.”
The Novices Can Also Teach
Younger individuals, for whom tools such as agentic AI are increasingly intuitive, can assist their more experienced counterparts in recognizing opportunities to reshape the future of knowledge-based careers.
Within the legal profession, this could manifest as novel business structures where the traditional billable-hour system is replaced by comprehensive strategic offerings featuring value-based fees and even subscription plans. It's evident that the established practice at certain large firms of billing clients substantial hourly rates for tasks performed by junior staff is no longer viable, especially when an AI can complete in moments what previously required human hours or days.
As AI increasingly automates manual tasks and handles intricate analysis and data processing in tax and accounting, businesses may find their focus shifting from financial reviews to forecasting future operations. The entry-level knowledge workers of today are poised to shape and experience this evolving landscape.
The sole constant: Any company aiming for future relevance needs to overhaul its on-the-job training for knowledge workers. Businesses adopting this change will enhance their field. Companies that resist risk a future devoid of emerging leaders.
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