Short answer
AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average.
AI and jobs
Will AI Replace Lawyers? (2026)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics places lawyers in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +4.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 28,700 openings a year.
- BLS AI exposure
- Very highBLS EP supplemental table
- AI-resilience score
- 28/100Higher than 20% of jobs · NueCareer
- Projected change
- +4.7%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
- Openings a year
- 28,700BLS EP 2025–2035
The federal measure
How exposed lawyers are to AI
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a relative AI exposure category for each occupation it projects, built from five public measures of where AI could be, or already is, used to assist with or complete the work. Lawyers land in the very high category: among the occupations most exposed to current AI.
Where this job sits on the BLS scale
786 occupations in the NueCareer bank, in BLS's four relative categories; width shows how many fall in each
- Low203 occupations · 26%
- Moderate194 occupations · 25%
- High190 occupations · 24%
- Very high · this job199 occupations · 25%
Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.
- Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
- BLS says exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. A highly exposed job can still grow if AI makes the people in it more productive.
- The classification reflects AI capabilities as the underlying studies measured them. Read the BLS method and limitations.
Inside the work
What AI can and cannot do in this job
O*NET rates how important each work activity is to an occupation and how often each working condition comes up. The ratings below are the ones that move the job's NueCareer AI-resilience score the most: the ones that pull it up, and the ones that pull it down. Only ratings clearly above the midpoint count.
What holds up
Physical, hands-on and person-to-person work
- Resolving conflicts and negotiating with others4.5/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Face-to-face discussions4.4/5O*NET work context, frequency or level
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships4.4/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Making decisions and solving problems4.6/5O*NET work activity, importance
What AI reaches first
Routine, repeatable and screen-based work
- Processing information4.1/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Documenting/recording information4.0/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards4.5/5O*NET work activity, importance
- Getting information4.6/5O*NET work activity, importance
The tasks O*NET lists for lawyers
- Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses.
- Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents.
- Confer with colleagues with specialties in appropriate areas of legal issue to establish and verify bases for legal proceedings.
- Examine legal data to determine advisability of defending or prosecuting lawsuit.
- Study Constitution, statutes, decisions, regulations, and ordinances of quasi-judicial bodies to determine ramifications for cases.
- Prepare, draft, and review legal documents, such as wills, deeds, patent applications, mortgages, leases, and contracts.
O*NET 31.0 Database task statements, most important first.
The jobs
Will there still be jobs?
Exposure says where AI meets the work. The BLS projection says what the labor market is expected to do over 2025–2035. BLS projects +4.7% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 28,700 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 754,500 people work in the job today, at a median of $159,670 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Questions
Will AI Replace Lawyers? FAQ
Will AI replace lawyers?
AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +4.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 28,700 openings a year.
How exposed are lawyers to AI?
BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Lawyers are in the very high category, alongside 198 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.
What parts of a lawyer's job can AI do?
In O*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are processing information, documenting/recording information and evaluating information to determine compliance with standards. The parts that hold up best are resolving conflicts and negotiating with others, face-to-face discussions and establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. These come from O*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.
Is being a lawyer a safe career from AI?
On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, lawyers score 28 out of 100, higher than 20% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $159,670 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.
The AI exposure category is the Bureau of Labor Statistics'. The AI-resilience score and the activity breakdown are NueCareer's analysis of O*NET 31.0 Database data (method), not a federal figure. More: jobs most exposed to AI, jobs least exposed to AI, or check any job.