The quiet reorganization of legal knowledge work

Document review, the traditional province of junior associates and contract attorneys, has reached an inflection point. AIAIArtificial intelligence: systems that perform tasks requiring human cognition, typically via statistical models. systems now process disclosure sets at speeds and accuracy levels that make human-only review economically indefensible for commoditized matters. The firms adapting fastest are not those deploying the most sophisticated technology—they are those restructuring compensation and advancement frameworks to reflect new value distributions.

The emerging pattern: junior lawyers who develop judgment about when AIAIArtificial intelligence: systems that perform tasks requiring human cognition, typically via statistical models. outputs require scrutiny become disproportionately valuable. Those who treat AIAIArtificial intelligence: systems that perform tasks requiring human cognition, typically via statistical models. as either infallible or useless find themselves in shrinking demand. The skill is calibration—knowing which outputs to trust, which to verify, and which to regenerate with refined prompts.

This reorganization extends to client relationships. General counsel increasingly request matter budgets that specify AIAIArtificial intelligence: systems that perform tasks requiring human cognition, typically via statistical models.-assisted versus human-only work streams. Firms that cannot articulate their methodology—what gets automated, what gets reviewed, what gets elevated to senior judgment—lose competitive positioning. The opacity that once protected billable hour models now signals operational immaturity.