March 24, 2026
Whether you are in the “we’re all doomed” category when it comes to AI, believe that it is someone else’s problem, or land somewhere in between, this is an important time for all of us in the legal profession to reflect on the unique value we provide as lawyers. That is the next stop in the Action Plan for this year’s Resolution for the Legal Profession.
Because AI is here, and if we play our cards right, it can be a game-changer by making our services more affordable and accessible for people who need our help while making the practice of law more fulfilling at the same time.
Having already focused on what clients most need, and freed our minds from the billable hour (or had the good fortune to never have had our minds clouded by it), we now need to focus on those exceptional human qualities that will continue to make us indispensable to the people who need legal help.
Value Starts with What the Client Wants and Needs
This sounds so elementary, but too often is given short shrift with the “one size fits all” pricing and service approach that dominates much of our profession.
As I noted in the first prong of this AI action plan, when people seek out legal help, they typically are looking to solve a problem, manage risk, make a deal, right a wrong, navigate a difficult situation, or find peace of mind on an issue that is important to them. Helping people accomplish those goals has always been a core part of the value that good lawyers provide for their clients, and AI is not going to change that.
Within those broad parameters, however, there is a wide range of legal help that people may want or need. Recognizing the enormous gap in affordable access to help today, we need to be clear-eyed about when people can effectively do things on their own, when they most need the help of a lawyer, and how much lawyer they need. And with that clear-eyed assessment, we need to develop a credible continuum of legal help that connects people to the right amount of assistance for their individual needs.
Understanding the unique value a skilled lawyer can bring to a particular matter begins with this prism of what the client wants or needs.
The Unique and Enduring Value of Good Lawyers
While AI is not going to replace our profession, it is going to require us to center our work around the uniquely human qualities that good lawyers bring to the table. This was the focus of my 2024 Resolution for the Profession, and in short, focuses on the three key roles lawyers have played for centuries: Counselor, Advocate, and Navigator.
Or as Jordan Furlong, one of the most prominent and perceptive analysts of the legal market, puts it, good lawyers bring unique value in their ability to “advocate, advise, and accompany.”
In a post a few years ago, I talked about each of these core roles in more detail, and here are a few of the high points below:
The Counsel Role
People facing legal issues often are nervous, emotional, or downright scared, and our role as counselors is critically important. Even when people objectively are getting a fair and proper outcome or think they know the answer, having that confirmed by a trusted advisor is an essential affirmation when the issues at stake are important to them.
There is a reason lawyers picked up the name counselor because that is at the core of what good lawyers do for their clients.
Perhaps someone can legally file a case or pursue a course of action with their legal issue, but should they do that? And when there is no practical legal solution, a good lawyer can objectively explain why that is the case, suggest potential alternative solutions, and perhaps connect the client with other resources.
The Advocate Role
Our advocacy role as lawyers is another fundamental one, whether we are talking about a court case, a transactional matter, or other legal situations where negotiation with another party will be involved…Studies show that having a lawyer in a contested proceeding makes a big difference in the substance of the outcome, the efficiency of reaching a resolution, and the client’s satisfaction and perceptions of fairness.
There are many reasons this is the case, starting with the fact that the lawyer can advocate with the objectivity of being a step removed from the situation the client is experiencing with its attendant emotions. As a skilled advocate trained in the procedure, a lawyer is better positioned to most effectively present the case on behalf of the client.
And where power dynamics are uneven, the lawyer as an advocate plays a key role in leveling the playing field for the client.
Good lawyers bring these advocacy skills to bear to get better results for their clients, settle cases on better terms, and resolve cases more quickly, leading to more satisfied clients who have greater confidence in the fairness of the system.
The Navigator Role
Another key role we play as lawyers is as navigators. That is both helping clients navigate complex legal processes and procedures and helping them navigate the larger situation surrounding their legal issues.
Beyond the more obvious role of guiding clients through the legal process itself, good lawyers help their clients understand and navigate both the legal process and the larger context of what is happening with their issue, counsel them along the way, and connect them to other resources, all of which play a big role in the client’s perception of the process and whether they are getting a fair shake.
Each of these three core roles are unique human qualities of good lawyers that AI and other technologies can never replace. And offering confidentiality, accountability, and great customer service are additional ways that we will provide enduring value.
In the age of AI, we should focus on these core qualities that make us indispensable and recognize that many of the tasks we have long associated with being a lawyer are no longer going to be as valuable to clients.
The Big Opportunity to Improve Access to Justice
As I noted in more detail in the post that kicked off this series, the backdrop for this year’s Resolution is that, at a time when we have a record number of lawyers practicing in Illinois and throughout the country, the majority of Americans struggle to find affordable legal help when they need it.
AI gives us a real opportunity to close that gap by more efficiently and cost-effectively bringing our unique value as lawyers to many more people who need legal help. The idea is not to work more hours, but to make those hours go much further in helping the people who need our assistance. Limited scope representation can and should play a much greater role in making that a reality.
Jordan Furlong recently laid out a thought-provoking vision for how this dynamic could reshape the legal market for the benefit of the everyday people who too often find themselves shut out today.
Onward
For this optimistic vision to play out in real life, we need to look at how AI and other technology can improve efficiency and better serve clients, and how to price our services to better align with the value we provide in a way that works better for all concerned.
More on that in next month’s post. Thanks as always for reading along, and there really is a method to the madness in the ordering of this Resolution series!