Tuesday 27 October 2026 1:44 pm  |  Updated:  Tuesday 27 October 2026 1:45 pm

Good AI adoption should force junior lawyers to think harder

By: Alex Fortescue-Webb

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AI has entered the legal world, but rather than making lawyers lazier, it should force them to think harder, writes Alex Fortescue-Webb in today’s Notebook

AI doesn’t have to mean lazier lawyers

Last week the Law Society made it clear that lawyers remain accountable for how juniors use AI. The legal profession is concerned about indiscriminate AI use, understandably given the number of stories of hallucinations that have hit the headlines. A recent HEPI survey found that 94 per cent of undergrads are using AI for assessed work. So when those students become lawyers, they are already familiar with these tools, but how they use them is largely going unchecked.

Clearly, a lot has changed in the last four years. AI tools are now able to competently take on........

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