NetDocuments recently came out with its 2025 Trends Report. This Report, based on a survey of legal professionals and related research, attempts to spotlight the trends law firms, in-house counsel, and legal professionals are facing.
This year’s Report contained lots of information about the use of Gen AI and its impact. But one finding caught my attention since it something about which I have previously written. It’s a finding that touches on the future of work processes, what the concept of a good lawyer will mean, and what skills lawyers and legal organizations will need.
75% of the legal professionals surveyed expect to change their talent strategies within two years
A Key Finding
According to NetDocuments, 75% of the legal professionals surveyed “expect to change their talent strategies within two years in response to advances in GenAI.”
What exactly this means isn’t clear, nor is the thought process of those responding evident. But 75% is a pretty big number.
Also, I’m always a little skeptical of surveys that ask what law firms especially will do in the future. And the question may have been worded in such a way that it would be hard to respond in anyway but the affirmative.
But if you accept the idea that law firms will change how they look at talent and who they hire, NetDocuments does raise some interesting conclusions as an outgrowth of this statistic.
The Native Tech Talent Myth
First, NetDocuments says law firms will seek professionals that have skills in technology and in particularly with Gen AI. NetDocuments recommends, “expand your hiring profiles and offer incentives to attract candidates who bring expertise in AI and machine learning.
Certainly, firms should look at the skills of new hires and inquire as to the use of technology’s and GenAI. But when up to
