AI and automation threaten to erode junior-level work, such as first-draft contract preparation and document review, which has traditionally been critical to training new lawyers. Without intervention, this shift risks leaving junior lawyers without the practical exposure needed to develop essential skills.

Kennedys, a global litigation and dispute resolution firm, today announced a strategic collaboration with Spellbook, a leading generative AI platform for lawyers, to tackle this challenge head-on. The partnership will deliver a pioneering legal training programme that helps lawyers build the skills they need as automation and AI change the nature of junior level legal work. 

About the programme

Set to launch later this year, the programme will equip the next generation of lawyers with the skills, judgement, and adaptability needed to thrive in a market where many traditional entry-level tasks are increasingly automated. It will combine Kennedys’ deep expertise in legal practice and professional development with Spellbook’s cutting-edge legal drafting and analysis technology.

John Bruce, Senior Partner at Kennedys, says: “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. Our collaboration with Spellbook is a forward-looking investment in the profession’s future, putting our people first whilst addressing head-on the efficiency opportunities and gaps that AI and automation are creating.”

The Kennedys and Spellbook training programme will use simulated scenarios and AI-assisted drafting exercises to replicate learning opportunities that may start to disappear in the workplace. Participants will receive structured feedback on their work, mirroring the coaching traditionally gained from senior colleagues.

Catherine Goodman, Chief Knowledge Officer at Kennedys, and Honorary Professor in Law at Queen Mary University, London, adds: “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.”

Scott Stevenson, Spellbook CEO and co-founder comments: “Kennedys is taking a bold and necessary step in preparing lawyers, and their clients, for an AI-powered future. By embedding Spellbook into a structured learning environment, they’re ensuring the next generation doesn’t just survive technological change, but leads it.”

 

A model for the industry

The collaboration represents one of the first large-scale initiatives in the legal sector to directly address AI’s impact on early-career training. The programme will be piloted first across Kennedys’ US and UK offices, with plans to share learnings across the profession.

ENDS

For further information, please contact: Claire McKay, Senior External Communications Manager, Kennedys, Claire.McKay@kennedyslaw.com / +44 20 7667 9548

About Kennedys

 

Kennedys is a global litigation and dispute resolution firm. With over 2,900 people across 45 offices in 18 countries, our teams provide innovative and tailored legal solutions wherever our clients need us. We collaborate seamlessly across our global footprint in our practice areas of insurance, liability defence, healthcare, corporate & commercial in supporting a broad range of sectors. Our lawyers have deep expertise in pre and post litigation support, coverage issues, dispute resolution and advisory services. In FY 2024/25, Kennedys recorded a breakthrough revenue of £428m.

 

For more information, please visit: www.kennedyslaw.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: Kennedys Law

 

About Spellbook

 

Spellbook is the #1 copilot for legal drafting and review, trusted by more than 3,600

law firms & in-house teams worldwide. Built directly into Microsoft Word, Spellbook

enables lawyers to draft & review with less drudgery, and helps identify risks

and opportunities for improvement.