Lawyers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 32% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 58% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 41% of the time, stays with people.
Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions. May specialize in a single area or may practice broadly in many areas of law.
754,500 people do this job in the US. $159,670 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work13 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet11 h
- Stays with people16 h
Lawyers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 13 hours become checking its work, 11 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 16 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Analyze probable case outcomes (about 2 h, a person checks); Study statutes and decisions for cases (about 1 h, a person checks); Draft and review legal documents (about 1 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 58%
- 1%
- 25%
- 15%
- 0%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 32% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 6%. Today's estimate: 32%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.66% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 38th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 6 of its 22 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.16% to 0.12% (released February and March 2025); 0.22% to 0.17% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.64% to 0.66% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.16% | 113 of 708 | 9 of 22 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.12% | 142 of 703 | 6 of 22 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.22% | 82 of 655 | 8 of 22 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.15% | 103 of 672 | 8 of 22 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.17% | 105 of 677 | 9 of 22 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.64% | 39 of 434 | 6 of 22 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.66% | 38 of 447 | 6 of 22 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates almost none of this job's working time as physical work, so robots do not reach it.
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
40% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Conduct trials, the in-person work, 7%
- Negotiate contracts, the conversation, 5%
- Gather evidence and interview witnesses, the conversation, 5%
- Present evidence in litigation, the in-person work, 5%
- Negotiate settlements, the conversation, 5%
- Probate wills and advise executors, the conversation, 3%
What becomes checking the machine
57% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Draft and review legal documents, a licensed person signs, 8%
- Analyze probable case outcomes, costly if wrong, 7%
- Study statutes and decisions for cases, costly if wrong, 6%
- Gather evidence and interview witnesses, severe if wrong, 5%
- Weigh whether to sue or defend, costly if wrong, 5%
- Develop case strategy and arguments, severe if wrong, 4%
What to learn
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check or sign: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 58% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- The conversations. About 41% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 22 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gather evidence to formulate defense or to initiate legal actions by such means as interviewing clients and witnesses to ascertain the facts of a case.Interviews, and documents collected and read.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.1 work days | Documents 50%, conversation 50% | 24%Desk part half by now |
| Prepare, draft, and review legal documents, such as wills, deeds, patent applications, mortgages, leases, and contracts.Pure document work.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 5 h50 min to 3.1 work days | Documents 100% | 38%Half by Feb 2027 |
| Negotiate contractual agreements.Negotiation with the other side, with drafts exchanged.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 8% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 4.2 work days | Conversation 70%, documents 30% | 12%Desk part half by Jan 2027 |
| Probate wills and represent and advise executors and administrators of estates.Filings and estate documents, and calls with the executors.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 7% | 1 work day1.7 h to 4.2 work days | Documents 60%, conversation 40% | 20%Desk part half by Mar 2027 |
| Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents.Reading precedent against the facts.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 2.5 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Documents 100% | 87%Half by now |
| Select jurors, argue motions, meet with judges, and question witnesses during the course of a trial.Speaking in court: jurors, motions and witnesses.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 7% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Present evidence to defend clients or prosecute defendants in criminal or civil litigation.Speaking in court, with the exhibits prepared.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 1.3 work days2.5 h to 1.3 work weeks | In person 80%, documents 20% | 5%Desk part half by May 2027 |
| Negotiate settlements of civil disputes.Negotiation with the other side, with terms written up.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 6% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.1 work days | Conversation 80%, documents 20% | 10%Desk part half by now |
| Study Constitution, statutes, decisions, regulations, and ordinances of quasi-judicial bodies to determine ramifications for cases.Legal research.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 5 h1.3 h to 2.5 work days | Documents 100% | 57%Half by now |
| Examine legal data to determine advisability of defending or prosecuting lawsuit.Reading the file and the law.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | Documents 100% | 71%Half by now |
| Evaluate findings and develop strategies and arguments in preparation for presentation of cases.Analysis and writing.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.1 work days | Documents 100% | 48%Half by now |
| Help develop federal and state programs, draft and interpret laws and legislation, and establish enforcement procedures.Drafting, with meetings to shape it.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | Documents 80%, conversation 20% | 12%Desk part half by Oct 2027 |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Judicial Law Clerks71% now, 93% by 2028
- Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers82% now, 88% by 2028
- Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates85% now, 94% by 2028
- Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators63% now, 95% by 2028
- Equal Opportunity Representatives and Officers51% now, 87% by 2028
- Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators60% now, 63% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Lawyers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 32% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 58% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (52% to 59% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Lawyers come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Analyze probable case outcomes (87% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Study statutes and decisions for cases (57% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Draft and review legal documents (38% of the task's time now, 97% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Lawyers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Conduct trials; and Present cases to judges and juries. Together such tasks are about 8% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Lawyers learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; briefing a model and checking its drafts; and signing off under your license. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 40% of the working time stays with people, 57% becomes checking a model's work and 1% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Lawyers?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.66% went to this job's tasks, the 38th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 6 of its 22 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 17%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Lawyers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds almost none of the working time is physical work, so robots do not reach it.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 22 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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