What Law School Grads Need To Know Now: The Second To Last Generation?

LeadershipLeadership StrategiesWhat Law School Grads Need To Know Now: The Second To Last Generation?ByJoseph Andrew,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Joe Andrew writes about the business of law.Follow AuthorJun 15, 2026, 06:00am EDTA law school graduation speech about the future of the business of lawgettyLaw Schools tend not to invite global law firm leaders to give graduation speeches, but usually focus on academics or celebrity alumni, maybe because they are concerned what they might say—particularly at this time of transformation in the legal profession where law schools are unsure how to meet the moment. So, here is the graduation speech that I have not been asked to give, or maybe asked not to give, since it is not a pep talk about A.I. , from the guy who built the world’s largest global law firm.The Profession You Are Entering Is ChangingEach spring, a new class of lawyers graduate into a profession that, until very recently, changed slowly enough that one could spend an entire career mastering its rhythms. That is no longer true. During my tenure the law changed quantitively, more than qualitatively—firms become global and more corporate and inhouse offices became more like big firms. That is over. The change you are entering is qualitative—the profession you are entering will not exist in its current form by the time you fully learn what is all about.That is not a warning. It is an invitation.First, the disclaimer before the evite. You all may be the second to last generation of lawyers—or at least lawyers as we know them today. If a generation of lawyers is the seven to ten years it takes to make partner, you can imagine a world where AI has changed things, but the big firms, big in-house corporate departments, and public law entities are all still remotely recognizable. However, if you think of how AI has changed the profession in the past one year and then imagine a world fourteen to twenty years from now,...