The great white shark dilemma: Why human connection is law’s new competitive edge

The great white shark dilemma

We are in the midst of a new challenge. I say ‘in the midst’ because the future we thought would arrive at some point is at our doorstep, knocking – a sound we can no longer ignore.

Five years ago, in a lecture series titled: “Legal Systems and Artificial Intelligence” (co-created by Hitotsubashi University and the University of Cambridge), Professor Mihoko Sumida offered lawyers a stark warning: don’t become “a stranded great white shark”. You can be at the top of the food chain, but if you can’t adapt to changes in your environment, you become helpless.

In the same series, Ludwig Bull, CEO of London-based law tech start-up CourtCorrect, observed that technology progresses so rapidly that “we will be able to do things that seem impossible now”. He noted that “AI will certainly grow and get better if it is allowed to learn”. Finding myself at the epicentre of self-driving cars, I can attest to this rapid evolution, all the while remembering a time not so long ago, when lawyers thought email might not catch on.

Reality check: 2026 and beyond

The trajectory is clear. Anthropic’s specialised legal plugin recently sent shockwaves through the industry by integrating contract review, brief drafting, and compliance into a seamless workflow.

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Hindsight provides a map. Two years ago, The Guardian reported that skilled workers face the highest risk of disruption. More recently, firms like Clifford Chance have linked restructuring decisions to increasing AI integration. The profession is transforming faster than many have anticipated.

Opportunity knocks

I am not the purveyor of doom; in fact, I see tremendous opportunity. It’s no secret that dissatisfaction among legal stakeholders has been high for some time. Bull’s observation holds the key: “robot lawyers can read documents in datasets but cannot really talk to clients”.

That key is trust. I know many are already engaging with AI like a trusted adviser despite awareness surrounding its present tendency to hallucinate. A window of opportunity has opened for the profession, but it’s time-sensitive.

The human-centric imperative

Trust is built via effective communication, a skill that, if we’re honest, hasn’t been the profession’s strongest suit. Studies have shown that legal training erodes “relatedness” skills by stripping away the human emotion endemic to relationships. Yet, relationships are central to legal practice.

A human-centric approach is what the profession has been missing. AI adoption will force this shift, but you can lead it.

Consider what you value from a service provider. Beyond technical competence, most of us want open lines of communication, or simply, to be heard. This begins with “active listening”, a concept developed by psychologist Carl Rogers. Integrating this one skill allows you to capture both facts and underlying drivers – nuances an algorithm cannot yet construe.

The benefits:

• Trust: Gaining deeper insight into client motivations fosters long-term loyalty, reducing potential claims arising from dissatisfaction.
• Clarity: Clients gain insight into their own motivations. When they feel heard, they often “hear” themselves.
• Reduced resistance: When a client feels understood, fear of judgement decreases, allowing more objective engagement with their legal position.

Practical steps forward

In practice, this requires a conscious audit of your communication style. In particular, observe where you might be judging or resisting a client’s emotional state.

Allowing clients to express their emotions does not mean you are required to “fix” how they feel – that is not your role. Active listening is just that: listening and reflecting on what you’ve heard, without the filter of an algorithm.

The legal environment is changing. The profession can choose to be the stranded great white shark, or it can evolve into the emotionally intelligent, high-level advisers that this rapidly changing world is seeking.

Virginia Robin is a former practising lawyer, legal futurist, mediator, and psychology student.