· while concerns about ai ’s limitations persist, the consensus is clear: · as 2026 begins, the national law review surveyed 85 legal professionals across legal practice, academia, and the legal technology sector to assess how ai is expected to shape the profession in the. That’s the future—not fewer lawyers , but better ones. Ai -driven services like capita can make legal services more affordable and accessible without replacing human oversight. Can ai replace in-house lawyers? Tasks once seen as painstaking—drafting agreements, reviewing contracts, or summarizing case law—are tailor-made for the raw processing power of language models. It will make the best ones indispensable. Will ai reshape the legal profession? · artificial intelligence is driving a new conversation about its impact on the workforce, specifically its potential to automate tasks and replace humans across many professions. Ai tools can foster an environment where lawyers practice and teach judgment simultaneously—preserving the profession and giving it deeper meaning. How will ai help lawyers? · ai wont replace lawyers ; · the clio 2024 legal trends report found that lawyers using automation and ai tools reported a 33% increase in client capacity without longer workweeks. Will ai change the practice of law? With the rapid development of gen ai and ai tools, there is also the ongoing. · rather than shrinking the workload, ai may dramatically expand the range and amount of viable legal claims.