Baker McKenzie, one of the world's largest law firms, is shedding up to 1,000 positions globally, a move the company attributes to a strategic review that includes greater reliance on artificial intelligence. The cuts, which could affect as much as 10% of its workforce, are concentrated among support staff rather than lawyers, according to a report by RollOnFriday, a legal news outlet.
The Chicago-based firm said the reductions follow a "careful review" of its business professional functions, with a spokesperson telling RollOnFriday that the goal is to "rethink the ways we work, including through our use of AI, introducing efficiencies, and investing in roles that best serve our clients' needs." The layoffs span dozens of positions in London and Belfast, with hundreds more across departments such as know-how, research, marketing, and secretarial work.
AI Jitters and Market Reactions
The news lands amid a broader market unease about AI's impact on white-collar employment. Just last week, the introduction of Anthropic's Claude Cowork, an AI agent designed to automate legal tasks and paperwork, triggered a sell-off in tech stocks as investors worried about widespread job displacement and the obsolescence of expensive software used by law firms and other professional services.
Baker McKenzie's move could be seen as a concrete sign of that trend, but some experts caution against reading too much into it. The term "AI washing" has gained traction in tech and finance circles, describing companies that invoke AI to justify layoffs that are actually driven by other financial pressures. A report cited in the original article found that AI was mentioned in the announcements of more than 54,000 layoffs last year, yet critics argue that many firms lack viable AI replacements to fill the gaps.
Peter Cappelli, a professor at the Wharton School, expressed skepticism in a New York Times interview, noting that companies often announce plans to introduce AI that "will take over these jobs," but "it hasn't happened yet."
AI's Mixed Record in Legal Work
The legal sector has seen its share of AI mishaps, with lawyers reprimanded by judges for submitting briefs that included fabricated case law and bogus citations generated by AI tools. In one notable instance, a firm resorted to using its own AI to detect whether other AI had been used in legal filings, a sign of the technology's unreliability in high-stakes settings.
Despite these challenges, Baker McKenzie's decision reflects a growing willingness among large employers to bet on AI-driven efficiency, even as the technology's practical limitations remain evident. One affected employee, quoted by RollOnFriday, called the move "short sighted," in an expletive-laced critique of the firm's leadership.
The long-term consequences of such cuts, whether genuinely AI-driven or merely labeled as such, remain to be seen. For now, the layoffs serve as a bellwether for how the legal industry—and the broader white-collar workforce—is navigating the uncertain promise of artificial intelligence.