AI Will Expand Lawyer Ranks, Not Replace Them by 2035, Charlotin Argues

2 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · May 17

Nearly 40% growth in U.S. law school applications over the last two cohorts underpins Damien Charlotin’s argument that AI is expanding, not erasing, legal work.
American Bar Association data also showed last year’s highest-ever employment rate for law graduates and the best rate for jobs requiring bar admission, challenging forecasts that legal tasks will soon be fully automated.
Charlotin argues legal practice hinges on judgment and ambiguity, so automating drafting or research can make verification and higher-value work more important rather than eliminate lawyers.
A decade of e-discovery offers his main precedent: software did not wipe out contract lawyers, but shifted work up the value chain as document volumes and procedural complexity grew.
By 2035, he says, law firms may reprice and rebundle junior work or shift some tasks in-house, but more rules, disputes and AI-driven disruption should still increase demand for lawyers.

If AI makes legal work cheaper, who truly captures the financial gains: law firms, clients, or AI developers?

Beyond verifying AI output, what unique human skills will define the most valuable lawyers in the coming decade?

Could using AI in legal work inadvertently destroy the fundamental protection of attorney-client privilege?