AI Is Speeding Up Junior Lawyers’ Work but Raising Questions About How Judgment Is Learned

New LexisNexis research finds that while AI is boosting productivity, firms must rethink how junior lawyers develop legal judgment, confidence, and critical reasoning.

LONDON, 02 February 2026 – LexisNexis® Legal & Professional, a global leader in private, secure, authoritative legal AI workflow solutions, announces today a new survey suggesting that while AI is transforming how legal work is done, it is also reshaping how junior lawyers learn, with significant implications for legal training, mentorship, and leadership. 

Findings from The mentorship gap report show that more than half (58%) of lawyers using AI tools say they are producing legal work faster, rising to 65% among those using paid legal AI platforms. The research also shows that junior lawyers are increasingly using AI for tasks such as legal research, first drafts, and document review, activities that have traditionally played a central role in early legal training. Taken together, the findings raise questions about how legal judgment is developed as these tasks are completed more quickly or with greater AI assistance. 

At the same time, the research identifies clear learning gaps. The biggest skills gap among junior lawyers is deep legal reasoning and argumentation, cited by 72% of respondents. Verification and source-checking skills are also a concern, flagged by 69%, pointing to ongoing challenges around how judgment and critical thinking are built. 

When asked what would help junior lawyers build strong legal reasoning and judgment skills while using AI, nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents selected positioning AI as a “thinking partner”, rather than a shortcut or replacement for legal expertise. An additional half (52%) said verification exercises that require juniors to check AI outputs against authoritative sources would help. 

The research also highlights differences in how success is measured across the profession. Among law firm leaders, revenue growth is the most important performance metric (55%), followed by positive client feedback (49%) and billable hours (38%). Associates place greater emphasis on billable hours and client feedback (both 54%), with revenue growth close behind (48%). These differences suggest that performance measures may influence how AI is prioritised and used in practice. 

Commenting on the findings, Dylan Brown, Editor of The mentorship gap report at LexisNexis, said: “The data shows a clear productivity upside from AI, but it also highlights a tension around how legal judgment is developed. As routine tasks change, firms need to be deliberate about how junior lawyers build the confidence and critical thinking that have traditionally come from experience.” 

About LexisNexis® Legal & Professional  

LexisNexis® Legal & Professional provides AI-powered legal, regulatory, business information, analytics, and workflows that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,800 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.  

Media Contact 

Matthew Leopold – Head of Brand, LexisNexis UK 

Email: Matthew.Leopold@lexisnexis.co.uk