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Today (16 July) is Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day. As AI continues to transform industries worldwide, a BigLaw partner has emphasised that firms should embrace this shift as an opportunity to elevate – not eliminate – human expertise, while exciting new trends continue to emerge.
With artificial intelligence and its rapidly evolving tools becoming increasingly integrated into the legal profession, law firms that were once hesitant are beginning to recognise that the key to success lies not in resistance, but in strategic adoption.
According to David Fischl, a partner at Hicksons | Hunt & Hunt, AI is already transforming legal practice from the ground up by “streamlining tedious and time-consuming review tasks, and allowing lawyers to focus on strategy, judgement, and client engagement”.
While the boost in efficiency is clear, Fischl is quick to point out that AI goes beyond merely saving time – it’s about empowering lawyers to elevate their capabilities.
“It’s about using AI to take the mechanical load off lawyers so they can focus on what matters: strategy and solving complex problems for clients. Tasks like proofreading, generating standard chronologies, or data extraction are now handled by AI tools built into the workflow,” he said.
“But critically, these tools are implemented in a way that ensures the expertise of the legal team still shines through. That means the tech acts as an ‘Iron Man suit’, accelerating work while maintaining human oversight and quality.”
Among one of the most promising developments that Fischl sees in the sector is the rise of the “AI strategy lawyer” – a new breed and hype role of what a legal professional looks like who combines deep legal knowledge with an understanding of AI tools.
“They’re qualified lawyers who know the pain points in legal practice and are helping shape AI tools to solve them,” he said.
“We’re also seeing a move away from generic ‘chat-and-answer’ tools and instead towards specialised systems that are embedded into legal workflows and tailored to practice areas”.
Fischl also underscored the transformative impact AI tools are having on legal training for junior lawyers, explaining that by automating repetitive tasks, these tools free up time for “high-level legal reasoning earlier in their careers”, thereby helping to “build stronger lawyers, faster.”
Despite these advances, many law firms and lawyers have yet to fully unlock AI’s potential. Fischl emphasised that the key to realising its benefits lies in “embedding it into workflows without losing the expertise that clients trust”.
Fischl is adamant that law firms cannot view AI as a “one-size-fits-all” solution, nor should it be seen as a replacement for legal reasoning. Instead, he suggests it should be leveraged to support and enhance the “expertise of the legal team”.
“By letting AI do the heavy lifting on extracting information, sorting documents, and summarising facts, it leaves the interpretation, advice, and strategy to the lawyers,” he said.
“This creates a hybrid model where lawyers are more efficient, clients get more value, and quality is never compromised. The true growth opportunity lies in offering new services like rapid-response legal support and advanced insights, which weren’t commercially viable before.”
But to fully realise these benefits, Fischl stated that law firm leaders must commit to investing in “change management and training, and junior lawyers must be included in AI-enabled workflows from day one”.
As AI reshapes the legal landscape, Fischl encourages lawyers to remain curious and begin applying AI tools in targeted, high-impact areas.
“AI isn’t just a tech trend, but rather it’s a fundamental shift in how lawyers work, learn, and deliver value. Lawyers should start building familiarity with AI by using it in high-impact areas: document review, chronology generation, or proofreading,” he said.
“Encouraging cross-functional collaboration allows law firms to leverage the expertise of both lawyers and IT professionals. Working together ensures these solutions are well-designed and effectively implemented.”
Fischl added: “While AI is transforming legal work in exciting ways, it’s important to recognise that every firm’s journey will be different, and human expertise will always be at the heart of legal practice. The real power of AI lies in its ability to augment and not replace the unique skills and judgment lawyers bring to their clients.”
