Follows major tech investment
A&O Shearman has become the latest major law firm to cut roles in its business services team, with investment in technology as of the reasons behind the decision.
The international giant confirmed the job cuts following reports that redundancies were being made in its London office. While the firm has not disclosed the number of positions affected, reports suggest the figure stands at around 20.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the firm said:
“Over the past two years, we have been investing significantly in our central business teams, as well as in technology and data, to deliver smarter and more consistent ways of working across a firm of our scale and ambition. That work has created new roles and reshaped others. In some areas this has meant limited and localised headcount reductions. Where that has been necessary, we are working closely to support affected colleagues.”
The news comes amid a broader wave of business services cuts across the legal sector, with AI and technology investment increasingly cited as contributing factors.
Baker McKenzie recently confirmed it was preparing to reduce roles across its global business services team — including marketing and secretarial support — with less than 10% of the roughly 600-strong team expected to be affected. The firm pointed to a growing reliance on AI as one of the reasons behind the move.
Clifford Chance is also set to cut around 50 back-office roles, with the Magic Circle firm reportedly telling staff staff that increased use of AI and falling demand for certain business services contributed to the cuts.
Fellow Magic Circle outfit Freshfields meanwhile announced plans to reduce paralegal numbers at its legal support hub in Manchester, saying the cuts were intended to “keep pace with a fast-changing legal market” while investing in technology.
When will “growing reliance on AI” be recognised as an over-reliance on AI?
When will firms realise that in the long-term, it is better to invest in people than what is essentially a computer program which will only be as good as its question input (and hallucinates)?
Difficulties will abound for those trying to get their career break into the legal world through paralegal-ing or working in other business services within a law firm as roles dry up because firms think it better to have a stochastic parrot for a colleague than a graduate or otherwise.
Disappointing to see, especially from firms who should have the spending power to support people when these firms are choosing to jump on the AI hype. (Profit is king, I suppose. Cut those costs…).
If an employee hallucinates at work, they might get flagged for a drug and alcohol test, when an AI program does it, people proceed on…
I for one am eager to see the AI bubble burst.