Last month, I gave you a summary of Jack Newton’s vision for the practice of law and Clio itself on our E249: How AI Is Redifining the Future of Legal Work. If Newton painted the near future, Richard Susskind offered a vision of the next decade. His central message: the legal profession must stop focusing on process and start focusing on outcomes and client value. As he put it, “The market will show no loyalty to our traditional ways of working if AI can deliver the outcome clients want—better, faster, and cheaper.”

Susskind shared six hypotheses about the future of AI:

1.       The Hype Hypothesis: AI is overblown and the bubble will burst. Susskind believes (and I agree) that this one is implausible. The genie is already out of the bottle. No one is going back to a world without AI.
2.       GenAI Plus: Today’s systems will simply become more reliable and normalized, but not revolutionary. Susskind says we’re almost there, and that we’ll achieve GenAI Plus by 2030. A…but that’s only the beginning.
3.       Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): These are systems that match human cognitive performance and they’re coming in the next five to ten years. Susskind describes AGI as potentially the most significant development in human history—and the legal profession is not prepared. Frankly, I don’t think any of us is prepared.
4.       Superintelligence: Now things are starting to get scary. This is AI that improves itself, evolving far beyond human capability through rapid self-iteration.
5.       The Singularity: Ultimately, some AI gurus hypothesize a merger of humans and machines, where human and artificial intelligence become integrated (getting scarier, right?).
6.       AI Evolution: Finally, in the ultimate sci-fi nightmare, humans are gradually replaced by AI systems across functions and industries, including law. 

I don’t think any of us will be around when we reach superintelligence and beyond, but in the meantime, we do need to be prepared for rapid development that will likely outstrip anything we’ve seen so far.

What does this mean for small law firms?

1. Think Innovation, Not Automation

Susskind warned against “process worship.” The best technologies, he said, don’t just make existing workflows more efficient. They allow us to do things that were never before possible. For small firms, that means thinking beyond document automation or intake bots. Those things are going to be table stakes. You’ll need to look for entirely new ways to prevent disputes, deliver guidance, and create peace of mind for clients.

As we’ve said before: clients don’t care how the sausage is made—they just want the sausage. If they can get a sausage faster and for a lot less money, most of them will take it. To succeed and stay relevant, lawyers are going to need to frame their value around the results they deliver to clients, not the process they use or any mystique of lawyering.

2. Prepare for the Coming AI Leap

Of his six hypotheses for AI’s evolution, Susskind suggested that—systems that match human performance—could arrive within the next five to ten years. The legal profession, he warned, is not prepared. Small firms have a window of opportunity now to adopt AI tools early, gain competitive advantage, and build future-ready workflows before the pace of change accelerates.

In our view, adopting AI tools goes hand-in-hand with adopting future-ready pricing. When you can generate a document, for example, in a fraction of the time it used to take you, hourly rates are simply not going to work. In that scenario, what is the true value you bring to your clients? What is the transformation you help them achieve and what is that transformation or outcome worth to them? Once you’ve determined that, you will need to price that transformation and be crystal-clear on communicating its value.

3. Shift from Competing to Building

We can barely compete with AI right now. In five to ten years, we will be left in the dust. Rather than trying to preserve tasks that machines will soon outperform, Susskind says lawyers should focus on building new systems and models of service delivery. That includes legal risk management, preventive lawyering, and self-service tools that empower clients. The firms that design these systems, he says, will lead the next generation of the profession.

Both Newton and Susskind delivered the same underlying message: the legal profession is at a crossroads. AI isn’t just another tool. It’s a catalyst for reimagining what it means to be a lawyer.

That’s inspiring…but it’s also intimidating and potentially overwhelming. Yes, the advantage may go to first-movers, but what if you don’t even have time to move?

The truth is that implementing new systems, retraining your team, and rethinking your business model will take an enormous investment of time and energy—two things most already have in short supply. And while you do have to invest time to save time, it’s worth asking yourself how much of this is really in your Power Zone?

How much of the work around AI selection, system design, and change management is truly the best use of your expertise as a lawyer and leader?