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As AI reshapes legal work, the in-house lawyers who create the most value by 2030 will be those trusted to navigate organisational complexity with sound judgement, business understanding, and practical advice, according to one GC and company secretary.
For Samantha Lennox, the in-house legal function will look very different in the future for law, but the biggest shift may not be driven by technology alone.
As organisations become more complex, Lennox recognises that legal teams will need to do more than provide technically sound advice: they will need to understand the wider strategic, operational, ethical, and reputational context in which decisions are made.
For senior lawyers, like Lennox – who is the company secretary and general counsel at Cancer Council Queensland – this means starting with the organisation’s ambitions and working backwards to consider what the legal function needs to become to help deliver them.
Artificial intelligence, technology, and data literacy will undoubtedly transform how legal work is performed, but Lennox argues that these capabilities will only go so far.
“Technology and AI will undoubtedly change the way legal work is performed, but I think the bigger story is that organisations are becoming more complex,” Lennox said.
“As complexity increases, the value of sound judgement increases.”
“The most important decisions organisations face are rarely purely legal questions.”
“They are often strategic, operational, ethical, and reputational decisions with legal dimensions.”
Such discussions surrounding the future of law follow research from Gartner, which noted that legal departments are set to change significantly by 2030 as regulatory pressures, geopolitical uncertainty, AI, shifting talent expectations, and limited resources reshape their responsibilities.
According to the findings, escalating regulatory oversight necessitates more robust risk mitigation strategies, whereas global political volatility will call for heightened organisational endurance.
While AI is poised to revolutionise the legal landscape and necessitate innovative governance frameworks, legal teams must also navigate shifting workforce dynamics and the persistent demand for heightened efficiency amid tightening resource constraints.
Lennox said the role of the in-house lawyer is evolving as organisations place greater emphasis on collaboration, commercial awareness, and practical decision making.
For Lennox, that shift ultimately comes back to the fundamental quality of trust, which is becoming increasingly important to lawyers, with effective communication, reliability, and understanding client needs playing a key role in building lasting professional relationships.
“I believe trust will become one of the most important capabilities of the future in-house lawyer,” Lennox said.
“Trust is built through relationships, business understanding, and consistently providing practical advice that helps the organisation move forward.
“Technology, data literacy, and legal expertise will all be important, but the legal teams that create the most value will be those that are trusted advisers, embedded in decision making, and able to help their organisations navigate complexity with confidence.”
