Firms are racing to “extract the knowledge of their lawyers” and embed it in AI workflows, client portals and self-service tools, Stanford Law professor David Freeman Engstrom tells Axios.

Engstrom said AI also may allow for new legal business to emerge for needs not met currently.

Engstrom said the next year will be crucial as firms figure out how to use client data, build AI workflows and answer sticky consent questions.

The bottom line: The future lawyer isn’t a document reviewer. They are a “symphony conductor” who pieces together AI outputs, data and legal scenarios, Engstrom said.