The career trajectory for young lawyers has long followed a familiar path, but according to the Young Lawyers presidents in NSW and Victoria, one defining trend is set to turn that model on its head this year.
As the legal profession enters 2026, the traditional pathway through the early years of a young lawyer’s career is being turned on its head, with junior lawyers no longer simply cutting their teeth on document review and drafting first versions of advice.
Instead, their roles are being reshaped by forces that are changing not only how legal work is done but also who does it – in turn transforming the early-career experience, the work young lawyers take on, and the skills they develop along the way.
At the centre of this systemic shift – one set to reshape the careers of young lawyers in 2026 and beyond – is generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), which the Young Lawyers presidents in NSW and Victoria agree will be the defining factor in how young lawyers’ careers take shape this year.
According to Samira Lindsey, president of LIV Young Lawyers in Victoria, while technology has long been embedded in lawyers’ daily work, the rapid rise of AI tools is accelerating change across the profession.
“While technology has long been used to replicate, to some extent, human functioning, there has been an explosion of developments in the use of AI in legal services,” Lindsey said.
She explained that this shift has had the greatest impact on lawyers at the start of their careers, with tasks once considered essential – from drafting documents and conducting legal research to performing document analysis – increasingly being handled by AI tools, fundamentally reshaping the work of early-career lawyers.
“There can be no question that AI is now widely deployed in legal services and is part of the daily life of being a lawyer,” Lindsey said.
“Many of the benefits generated by AI are impacting tasks traditionally performed manually by emerging lawyers. These tasks include, for example, document review.”
NSW Young Lawyers president Will Noonan echoed this view, describing AI as driving a seismic shift in what early-career lawyer work looks like, and warning that its growing sophistication will disproportionately affect junior lawyers whose work has historically been highly susceptible to automation.
“AI will continue to have an impact on the profession, and as it improves, it will have a disproportionate impact on not only the work done by early-career lawyers, but also on the availability of work,” Noonan said.
“While the work that young lawyers are often tasked with – such as the first run on preparing documents, and research – may seem like grunt work, it is work that can often be mimicked and replicated by AI and large language models.”
Noonan cautioned that as AI continues to improve, both clients and firms will increasingly question the value of early-career lawyers, with AI able to handle initial case work and generate documents faster and at a fraction of the cost.
“As AI improves, both clients and firms will ask: what is the value of the early-career lawyer when I can have AI do that initial work for a fraction of the price?” Noonan said.
“And from the outset, prompting AI with the issues of a case and asking it to prepare a suite of documents is quicker and seemingly cheaper compared to hiring or instructing an early-career lawyer.”
However, Noonan emphasised that AI can’t replace the core functions of a lawyer, particularly where professional judgement, strategy and human insight are still essential skills needed as a successful lawyer.
“But AI isn’t a lawyer. It cannot discern between the nuanced personality differences of clients, nor is it able to exercise professional judgement, nor can it adapt its advice to the specific strategies of the file,” Noonan said.
“It will simply answer the questions prompted based on statistical probability.
“A good lawyer doesn’t just answer the question posed. A good lawyer must also consider the context of the question, the person posing the question, and the consequences of the answer given.”
How to best prepare for this change
To help young lawyers navigate and thrive in a landscape increasingly shaped by AI, Lindsey emphasised that maintaining ethical and professional obligations remains essential, even amid these technological changes.
“Always bear in mind your ethical and professional obligations as a legal practitioner, which remain in place when providing legal services with the assistance of AI. In particular, be conscious of the need to maintain client confidentiality,” Lindsey said.
“Ask yourself whether the material being ingested by the legal technology tool is sensitive, confidential or privileged.
“If yes, check that the AI platform you are using is secure and not open source or public and/or whether the client has consented to the use of the tool for their matters.”
Noonan highlighted the importance of young lawyers engaging with professional bodies like the Law Society and Young Lawyers programs, underscoring their role in career development and in building the skills most vital for today’s legal landscape.
“This is where professional bodies like the Law Society and NSW Young Lawyers are critical. They offer structured opportunities to learn from others across all career stages – from students and graduates to senior associates and partners,” Noonan said.
“Involvement in professional organisations isn’t just about CPD points; it’s about learning and observing the soft skills [that] distinguish us as a profession.”
Lindsey also stressed the critical importance of quality control, particularly in an era where AI-generated content can produce “hallucinations”, warning of the serious consequences of relying on material without careful verification.
“Don’t forget quality control. AI output is not always free from ‘hallucinations’ being content that appears convincing but may not be accurate,” Lindsey said.
“Reliance on this material without checking the substance can have significant consequences for your client and your practice.
“We have all heard the horror stories (e.g. court documents citing non-existent authorities identified by AI). Always verify information generated via AI, including dates, statutory provisions and other details.”
