As AI takes on legal work, what happens to the prestige of being a lawyer?

Artificial intelligence is transforming the profession, but it won't diminish it.

- Ben Chester Cheong

AI is not removing the need for lawyers, says the writer. What it is doing is testing some of the conditions that historically allowed society to treat law as a prestige profession.

(ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG)

When I studied law, legal education still reflected an earlier model of expertise.

Undergraduate examinations were often closed book. Students spent long hours memorising cases and statutes because access to knowledge itself formed part of professional value.

In practice, that translated into labour-intensive processes. As a trainee in 2015, I spent weeks reviewing documents in physical data rooms during due diligence exercises — work that was both a training ground and an economic foundation of legal services.

In Singapore, when students are asked what they hope to become, certain answers have long carried particular weight. “Doctor” and “lawyer” have traditionally been seen not just as occupations, but also as markers of achievement, stability and entry into a respected professional class.

That prestige is often linked to income. But that cannot fully explain why some roles command admiration even when they are not the highest-paying, or why others with strong earnings do not carry the same cultural standing.

A more useful way to understand prestige in Singapore is to see it as a combination of factors: selectivity of entry, visible responsibility, structured career pathways, economic security and broad social recognition.

A profession that brings these elements together tends to be viewed as desirable, difficult to access and socially validated.

For decades, the legal profession has aligned with these signals. That alignment explains why, when I was an A-level student, it was a common aspiration for academically strong students.