Can Lawyers Be Replaced by Computers?

One of my duties as a business consultant is to gaze into the future and make predictions that will benefit my clients. An important component of running a successful businesses is to look at trends, forecasts and projections. This is done for many reasons:

• To see how you can capitalize on the changes
• To gauge how it will affect your business
• To adapt and adjust before the changes occur
• To stay ahead of your competition

While doing research I came across another interesting article on automation:

Lawyers Could Be the Next Profession to Be Replaced by Computers

Now I must admit, I never thought lawyers could be replaced by computers (who has actually,) but according to the article, big changes in the field of law will be felt around the world between the years 2020 and 2025.

The article goes on to say that nearly 40 percent of jobs in the legal sector could end up being automated in the long term.

That’s a lot of jobs.

This may or may not be surprising to you. Some may consider it “fake news,” but it should definitely make you think: if the field of law can be hit by automation, what other industries can automation affect? How will this affect young people who aspire to be attorneys when they grow up?

As much as we may try to downplay it, automation isn’t going anywhere. I’m starting to believe it will have an impact on every industry and affect people of all ages.

As you read this, ask yourself:

• How will it affect me personally? 
• Is my job  a potential victim of automation?
• How secure is  my industry?
• What are the trends in my industry?
• What would I do if my profession became automated and I lost my job?

These are the tough questions we must start asking ourselves.

I talked about automation on a previous blog post. (Click HERE to read it.) Like it or not, your job could be affected by automation. Your children’s employment options could be affected as well.

The majority of us just want a nice, stable job that pays well. We don’t want to hop from job to job. We just want to provide for our families or live a comfortable life.

These are all great ideas and there’s nothing wrong with them. However the world we live in can’t guarantee us that reality. It’s time to look at other employment options.

Starting a business isn’t something everyone wants to do, but it may be wise to seek ways to create multiple sources of income, even on a part time basis. Your job may be safe for now, but nothing is guaranteed. Food, rent and gas bills still have to be paid.

This is just one of the reasons Jeffrey White and I wrote the book Readi – Set Go: A Simple Guide to Establish a Successful Small Business. ( Pick up a copy HERE on Amazon.)

Unfortunately, most businesses fail within the first 5 years. The key to business success is to determine how your business can provide a good or service the consumer needs, as well as learning what needs to be done to ensure it runs efficiently.

By looking at the trends in automation, a creative person can carve out a niche for themselves while others are still trying to determine what’s going on.

Are you ready for automation? It might be here before you know it.