Author archives

Jordan Furlong is a leading analyst of the global legal market and forecaster of its future development. Law firms and legal organizations consult me to better understand why the legal services environment is undergoing radical change, and they retain me to advise their lawyers how to build sustainable and competitive legal enterprises that can dominate the new market for legal services. Over the past several years, he has addressed dozens of law firms, lawyer organizations, legal regulators, and others throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. My presentations help lawyers think differently about the services they provide and counsel law firm leaders about re-engineering their firms’ purpose, strategy, and operations. He has also authored several books and white papers that analyze the rapidly evolving legal market and illuminate the forces and trends driving change in this environment. After graduating from Queen’s University Faculty of Law in 1993 and completing his articles at Blake, Cassels & Graydon in 1994, he was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1995. Shortly thereafter, he began an award-winning career as a legal journalist, culminating in a decade as editor of three leading Canadian legal periodicals (The Lawyers Weekly, National, and the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association Magazine). In 2007, I launched Law21: Dispatches From a Legal Profession On The Brink, which went on to become the only non-American blog to be included six straight years in the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100.

The accountability premium

A lawyer’s ability to stand behind their legal work is a real advantage over legal AI. But for many clients, paying more to transfer risk to a lawyer is a luxury — and maybe soon, an unnecessary one. Jordan Furlong’s opening keynote at ABA TECHSHOW March 26, 2026 in Chicago addressed two critical questions facing the legal profession right now: “As AI displaces lawyers from a growing share of legal task performance, what will be left for lawyers to do?” and “How are we going to develop lawyers when we don’t know what we’re training them for, and when we can’t count on law firms to do the training anymore?”

Subjects: AI, Leadership, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession, Legal Technology

The divergence of law firms from lawyers

Jordan Furlong contends right now it’s possible for an ordinary person to obtain from an LLM like ChatGPT-5 the performance of a legal task — the provision of legal analysis, the production of a legal instrument, the delivery of legal advice — that previously could only be acquired from a human lawyer. He further states he’s not saying a person should do that. The LLM’s output might be effective and reliable, or it might prove disastrously off-base. But many people are already using LLMs in this way, and in the absence of other accessible options for legal assistance, they will continue to do so. Furlong offers insights into the challenges such a paradigm shift pose as well as the consequences of not meeting the moment as the velocity of AI’s adoption permeates the legal profession.

Subjects: AI, Legal Education, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession, Legal Technology, Training

What are lawyers for?

Jordan Furlong states that we all know lawyers’ commercial role, to be professional guides for human affairs. But he stresses we also need lawyers to bring the law’s guarantees to life for people and in society. And we need it right now.

Subjects: Communication Skills, KM, Leadership, Legal Profession, Legal Research

Another Brilliant Idea! the Hidden Dangers of Sycophantic AI

Jordan Furlong’s article expands analysis on the already noted risks arising from lawyers using AI. Generative AI can be incredibly, and dangerously, sycophantic. This is particularly worrisome for lawyers, because if they lose intellectual skills, what will they left to offer people? Furlong notes that the similarities between lawyer thinking and AI “thinking” should be a cause for alarm within the legal profession.

Subjects: AI, Communication Skills, Communications, Legal Education, Legal Profession, Legal Research, Management

The fallacy of the calculator

Jordan Furlong shares salient, focused and actionable thoughts about the future relationship between Gen AI and the legal profession. Furlong states that the more you study how Generative AI works, the more parallels emerge with how lawyers think — and that has implications. With Gen AI getting better every day, we need to get our act together, fast.

Subjects: AI, Information Management, KM, Law Firm Marketing, Legal Technology, Technology Trends

Your law firm needs a Situation Room

Jordan Furlong advises law firms that in this chaotic new world order, organizations cannot sit back waiting for the next bombshell to drop. Firms need to anticipate, analyze, and address critical new developments — before they affect the organization and its clients. Furlong highlights the components of well grounded strategic action plans to reduce risk and respond in a firm wide manner.

Subjects: AI, Communication Skills, Economy, Education, Law Firm Marketing, Leadership, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession

Does the Government Decide What Your Law Firm Will Do?

Jordan Furlong states that “If anyone’s going to speak up, it should be law firms. If anyone’s going to take a stand, it should be law firms.” This position resonates as more than 20 major law firms have been directed by Trump’s EEOC to provide information about their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) related employment practices.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Communications, Legal Profession, United States Law

The race against time to reinvent lawyers

Jordan Furlong is a leading analyst of the global legal market and forecaster of its future development. In this insightful article he contends that our legal education and licensing systems produce one kind of lawyer. The legal market of the near future will need another kind. If we can’t close this gap fast, we’ll have a very serious problem.

Subjects: Law Firm Marketing, Leadership, Management, Team Building

Advocate, advise, and accompany

Jordan Furlong advocates the position that three essential roles – to advocate, to advise, and to accompany – will be of critical importance in the post-AI era and lawyers need to start preparing legal education, lawyer licensing, and law practices to adapt and modify their client engagement.

Subjects: AI, Communications, KM, Legal Education, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession, Legal Technology

The Generations War comes to the law firm

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus taught “Change is the only constant in Life.” It is not rhetorical to state that we are living in a time of seismic change. Jordan Furlong frames the challenges and opportunities as It’s not about who’s right, Boomers or Millennials. It’s about the most profound change to the fabric of the legal profession in 40 years, and how we’re going to get through it.

Subjects: Uncategorized