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While the profession’s growing adoption of AI is undoubtedly reshaping the graduate legal job market, one paralegal is urging law students not to panic, stressing that a changing profession does not necessarily mean a shrinking one.
The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence across the legal profession is reshaping the graduate recruitment landscape, with firms increasingly scaling back graduate intakes as legal technology takes over routine tasks once entrusted to junior lawyers.
However, Aloizio Compart, a paralegal at HWL Ebsworth Lawyers, is urging law students not to view the changing landscape as a sign that opportunities are disappearing, but rather that they are evolving.
As AI continues to reshape the traditional pathway into the legal profession, he acknowledged that some reduction in opportunities for emerging lawyers may be inevitable.
However, Compart argued the reality is far more nuanced than the headlines suggest, saying AI is not simply eliminating early-career legal opportunities but reshaping the nature of legal work and redistributing where those opportunities exist.
“Speaking as someone who has come through a clerkship and secured a graduate offer, I think some reduction in roles is inevitable, but the picture is more nuanced than the headlines suggest,” he said.
“While some firms are trimming intakes, others are actually increasing theirs because AI has driven growth in their practice. It’s less a shrinking of the profession and more a redistribution of where the opportunities sit. However, you are seeing a reduction in support staff.”
Against that backdrop, Compart said aspiring lawyers need to rethink how they approach the job market, arguing that success will increasingly depend on making deliberate career choices rather than casting a wide net.
“Students need to be more deliberate about where they aim. The days of treating every large firm as interchangeable are over,” he said.
“Firms are diverging in how they’re responding to AI, and students who understand which firms are growing and why will have a real edge.”
As opportunities continue to spread across the legal profession, Compart encouraged law students to broaden their horizons beyond the biggest firms, arguing that mid-tier firms and boutiques are “equally [on] the playing field”.
Despite growing uncertainty surrounding graduate recruitment, Compart remains optimistic about the profession’s long-term outlook, arguing there has rarely been a better time to pursue a career in commercial and corporate law.
“Honestly, I’m not feeling much pressure in my area, and I accept my view may be biased, but I genuinely think this is one of the best times in years to become a commercial or corporate lawyer,” he said.
As Australia attracts increasing levels of foreign investment, he said, accelerating activity across mergers and acquisitions, the energy transition, infrastructure and Asia-Pacific capital flows is creating a strong pipeline of work for transactional lawyers.
“Deal flow is only going to increase, foreign investment into Australia continues to rise, and Australia is becoming an extremely attractive market, whether that’s M&A activity, the energy transition, infrastructure, or capital flowing in from the Asia-Pacific,” he said.
“Transactional work isn’t going anywhere. If anything, demand for lawyers who can run deals is growing.”
While optimistic about the profession’s future, Compart was more critical of how universities are preparing the next generation of lawyers, arguing that legal education has struggled to keep pace with the rapid evolution of AI.
“Students are currently at a disadvantage because universities have been slow to react to AI. The universities that embrace and leverage AI within their curriculum will produce graduates who walk into firms ready to add value from day one,” he said.
Calling for legal education to evolve, he stressed that universities should embed AI and legal technology into their curricula so graduates enter practice ready to contribute from day one.
“Something as simple as a legal AI or legal technology elective would go a long way. Students shouldn’t be learning these tools for the first time in their graduate year. I know WSU is offering this,” he said.
Looking ahead, Compart urged aspiring lawyers to focus on the qualities AI cannot replace, arguing that those who proactively build relationships, embrace emerging technology and develop commercial awareness will be best positioned to thrive in an increasingly competitive profession.
“Be proactive. Don’t wait for the market to come to you. Build genuine relationships, learn the tools that firms are actually using, and understand the commercial drivers behind the law,” he said.
“Uncertainty punishes passivity, but it rewards the students who move first.”
