My first law firm billed clients $600 per hour for me to use my Harvard degree on data entry. Thank God AI is changing the industry

In 2010, the author walked into the district attorney's office in his Kansas hometown, inspired by onscreen lawyers and determined to become a lawyer himself. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he started his career in a law firm, where he was assigned menial tasks such as ensuring signature lines were of equal length across multiple documents, which the firm billed the client at over $600 per hour.

However, the landscape of the legal profession has dramatically changed since then, thanks to the advent of artificial intelligence. AI technology is transforming the way most lawyers practice, despite its imperfections and limitations. Companies like Harvey and Legora, which dominate the BigLaw AI scene, have revolutionized the industry by acting more like tech companies than law firms.

BigLaw firms are now spending to hire top-name engineers and transforming themselves into tech companies behind the scenes. Lawyers are realizing that they no longer need a big firm's infrastructure or training model, and star players are leaving top firms to launch smaller, tech-driven firms. This shift in the industry will democratize access to high-quality legal services and flatten the influence of major law firms, ultimately benefiting both lawyers and clients.