Bloomberg Law
Jan. 18, 2017, 11:08 PM UTC

Microsoft’s Top Lawyer Toasts Legal Secretaries

Gabe Friedman
Freelancer

Lawyers often fret about what will happen when intelligent machines are capable of performing their jobs. But automation has already affected some people at law firms — the support staff.

This week in Davos, Microsoft’s Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith provided a reality check on how much automation technologies have already transformed law firms.

On a panel, entitled “Governing Globalization,” Smith noted that about three decades ago, every administrative assistant worked with two lawyers. Today, every administrative assistant works with about 10 lawyers.

While everything from word processors and emails to cloud storage has enabled this change, Smith noted that it still takes “soft ...

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