As AI transforms the legal industry, Kennedys is taking a bold step to ensure junior lawyers have the right opportunities to build their skills in a changing environment.

AI is Reshaping Early-Career Training

In many firms, AI and automation are already reducing the volume of junior-level tasks that traditionally built judgment and practical experience. Without intervention, that shift risks leaving junior lawyers without the hands-on exposure needed to develop essential skills. Kennedys is addressing this challenge head-on.

“As AI accelerates change across the legal sector, we have a responsibility to ensure junior lawyers aren’t left behind. This programme is about creating AI-fluent lawyers: professionals who can combine deep legal reasoning with the ability to work seamlessly alongside AI tools.”‍

‍John Bruce, Senior Partner, Kennedys

A New Type of Training Program

Set to debut later this year, the programme will use Spellbook’s drafting and review capabilities to create simulated learning opportunities that mirror the practical experience junior lawyers would traditionally gain:

• ‍Simulated drafting and review scenarios that mirror real-world workflows‍
• AI-assisted exercises to help junior lawyers practice drafting and issue-spotting‍
• Structured feedback loops designed to replicate the coaching traditionally provided by senior colleagues.

By embedding Spellbook into a training environment, the program gives junior lawyers a hands-on way to practice skills that might otherwise be lost as AI adoption accelerates.

“The Spellbook team really understood our concerns about a potential knowledge gap caused by technology, and our excitement about how to solve for that leveraging technology: using AI to nurture our junior lawyers’ learning, and support their professional development.”

Catherine Goodman, Chief Knowledge Officer, Kennedys; Honorary Professor in Law, Queen Mary University, London

A Model for the Industry

The program will first roll out across Kennedys’ US and UK offices, with plans to share learnings across the broader profession. It represents one of the first large-scale initiatives in the legal sector aimed directly at preparing junior lawyers for the realities of an AI-driven practice.