A Financial Times Lex column has argued that the spread of artificial intelligence into higher-value legal work will intensify client demands for lower fees, forcing senior lawyers to "sharpen their hunting spears" and refocus on the premium advice machines cannot yet replicate.
July 19 · Lex Column
AI Climbs the Value Chain — Elite Lawyers Told to "Sharpen Their Spears"
As AI moves beyond junior tasks into the premium work of senior partners, clients will push for lower fees — squeezing the billable-hour model that underpins top firms.
Who captures the savings?
Past tech quietly lifted margins. AI's transparency shifts the gains toward the client.
Before AI
Savings kept by the firm → higher margins, same bills
With AI
Task takes minutes, not hours → clients press for the difference
1,000+
Lawyers a top firm could reach by distributing its star partners' knowledge via AI
Senior
A&O Shearman's AI tool targets work once thought "untouchable" — the partner tier
Costs
Courts ready to impose wasted-costs penalties when unchecked AI output reaches filings
The squeeze, step by step
AI moves up
→
Clients see it
→
Fees squeezed
Upside
Stripping away drudgery frees partners for judgment, relationships and novel matters — potentially expanding the market for high-end advice.
The limit
Hallucinated cases and citations carry real penalties. Clients still pay for accountable, verifiable expertise — which may preserve human seniority.
"Survival will favour those who hunt for higher-value work rather than guard shrinking territory."
A directional argument, not a forecast — but one that will define the economics of elite law in the years ahead.
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