For some lawyers, AI sounds the death knell. For others, it breathes new life into work. This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

Generative AI is helping smaller law firms compete with larger rivals. But for independent lawyers, it's an entirely different story. The shift has been especially painful for newly licensed lawyers. Tasks once assigned to junior associates — such as carrying out legal research, writing case summaries and drafting documents — are increasingly being handled by AI tools. The shift has reduced hiring demand across law firms, corporations and public institutions. "Lawyers are losing work, just as accountants and translators did before us," said Kim Min-kyu, a lawyer of 10 years. Kim shut down his solo practice earlier this year and took a more stable job after concluding that independent lawyers could no longer compete in the AI era. "I've even seen lawyers take delivery jobs after struggling to find work for an extended period," Kim said. For those who are fresh out of law school, the reality is even more bleak. What associate lawyers — those with less than three years of experience — used to handle is now being done by more experienced attorneys using AI, without the need for younger lawyers to do the time-consuming research and paperwork. In fact, job postings for newly licensed lawyers at law firms, companies and public institutions fell to 3,167 in 2025 from 3,895 in 2021, a decline of 18.7 percent, according to data posted on the Korean Bar Association's website. "If we hire a junior associate, even a trainee, we have to pay more than 5 million won ($3,300) a month after taxes," a seventh-year lawyer in Seoul's Seocho District, southern Seoul, said. "For about 1 million won a month [in AI subscriptions], we can save 25 million won a month," equivalent to the salary of five associates. Scrapping plans to hire new associate lawyers is likewise becoming more common. "We decided not to move forward with hiring after having planned to hire two new [associates]," said one lawyer in Seocho District. "One AI assistant can now handle the tasks of five lawyer trainees as the hallucination issue has improved drastically." While some lawyers paint a bleak picture for an AI era, the technology has created opportunities for lawyers at small and midsize firms. "Large firms have long enjoyed advantages in expertise and research resources," said Jeon Hee-jung, an attorney who runs a law office in Daejeon. "AI can do the work of five to 10 people when it comes to research and has lowered the barriers to specialized legal knowledge." The outlook has also improved for some solo practitioners. Yoon Se-hwan, a lawyer with six years of experience, had considered hiring his first employee this year but ultimately decided against it. "When I saw the new Claude Code model released earlier this year, I thought I could hold out a little longer," Yoon said. "I spend as much as 1 million won a month on AI subscriptions, but AI has allowed me to take on cases I wouldn't have been able to handle before. I've already recouped a full year's worth of subscription costs." Some lawyers argue that AI has enabled them to focus more on the "core" of their legal profession. Lawyers, once jokingly described as "document-writing machines," are increasingly delegating drafting work to AI and concentrating instead on tasks that require a human touch, such as consultations with clients, gathering evidence and speaking in the courtroom. "There are duties that just cannot be replaced by AI, such as answering calls from clients facing urgent situations and conducting investigations or being present for emergency arrests," said attorney Lee Hye-in. Lee hired two junior associates and one trainee lawyer last year on the belief that "face-to-face human interaction has become even more important in the AI era." "Work is shifting as lawyers are spending less time drafting legal documents thanks to AI and more time on business development and client management," said Cho Jeong-hyeon, an attorney who heads the Suwon, Gyeonggi, office of a midsize law firm. "We've entered an...