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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong
@jordanfurlong.com
1.9K followers 140 following 14K posts
Legal sector analyst, consultant, author, speaker, and reformer (he/him). I publish a free bi-weekly Substack newsletter: https://jordanfurlong.substack.com/ "We have the chance to turn the pages over." Luke 12:24-32.
jordanfurlong.substack.com
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 28m
So we need a new approach that will systematize, accelerate, and upgrade early lawyer formation. That will involve, inter alia, a longer period of pre-licensure and maybe a limited-license period afterward. I'm working on a project that will propose such a system, set for publication next year. 👀 //
jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 28m
Anyway, whatever its (de)merits, this "natural" system and timeline will fall away. Partners will figure out they don't need associates to bill hours post-AI and clients won't pay for those hours anyway. It'll take a while to break the mass-associate-hiring habit, but once it breaks, it's gone. 5/
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 28m
Aside: Every lawyer training institution molds its subjects into its own image. Law schools don't develop lawyers, they develop law professors (Where did most of the A students wind up? Back in the faculty). Similarly, BigLaw trains lawyers to succeed in BigLaw, but not for other contexts. 4/
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 28m
But it also takes too long! Not just on Intuition, but on everything. Lawyers' early-years formation is slowed and skewed because firms aren't training associates to be great lawyers, but to generate lots of hours. I believe leveraged associateship intrinsically stunts lawyer development. 3/
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 28m
But "natural" in this context = "how it's been done until now," which normally meant working as a law firm associate with (as you implied) some degree of competent and interested supervision. That was an inefficient, inconsistent, and often inequitable (favoured the incumbent demographic) system. 2/
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 28m
Great question! I'd say the "natural" development time for Intuition is at least 7-8 years. Most lawyers I've asked say it took >5 years post-call just to feel confident as a lawyer, and by 10 years most are in a groove, so I'd put the leading edge of the Intuition threshold somewhere in between. 1/
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 50m
What really seems to have accelerated is clients' interest. Many have gone from fear and loathing of AI to requesting updates on which AI tools firms are using and how much their billed hours are going down as a result. Canada might be a little behind on this curve too, depending on the client. //
jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 50m
The update should be interesting! Both the tech and the profession's comfort level with it have advanced quite a bit in the last year, although that might not yet have ascended to the partnership level of the elite firms. AI isn't reliable for everything, but it's extremely helpful for a lot. 1/
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 1d
New from me at Substack: In the post-AI legal sector, lawyers will be called on for different functions than before. Here are three essential attributes lawyers must possess to meet that new demand. We need to start training lawyers to develop them -- now. jordanfurlong.substack.com/p/three-core...
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 1d
"White used ChatGPT to identify potential errors in a judge’s decision ... [to] overturn her eviction notice and avoid roughly $55K in penalties and more than $18K in overdue rent. 'I never, ever, ever, ever could have won this appeal without AI.'" www-nbcnews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nbcn...
People are using ChatGPT as a lawyer in court. Some are winning.
From pickleball disputes to eviction cases, litigants are using ChatGPT to fight their court battles — and they’re starting to win.
www-nbcnews-com.cdn.ampproject.org
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 2d
Pluto-cracy, if you will.
jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 4d
Everyone agrees that new lawyers need a solid foundation of legal knowledge and reasoning at licensure. But I'm more skeptical all the time that the lawyer formation process is inculcating those assets and that bar exams are ensuring them. We need to figure out where we're going wrong and fix it. //
jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 4d
Two of the last four SQE1 sittings have produced failure rates in 55-60% range. That speaks to a yawning gap between the preparation candidates receive and the standards to which the exam will hold them. The SRA has a responsibility to close that gap, one way or another.
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 4d
I welcomed the SQE system when it arrived because I believe the law degree requirement for bar admission imposes costs well beyond its benefits. But if you remove that requirement, you are required to ensure candidates can still acquire legal knowledge and reasoning skills effectively elsewhere.
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 4d
Either too many candidates aren't being properly prepared for the exam (very possible. since the SQE1 is open to people without a law degree), or the exam itself is unduly and unnecessarily difficult (of course, there's no reason it can't be some of both).
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 4d
You can talk all you like about how "rigorous" an exam is and how it proves the regulator is screening for competence. That's been the SRA's tune in the past. But when 60% of the people taking your exam are failing, that's not quality assurance, that's a failure of exam preparation and/or execution.
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 4d
SQE1 exam results from July 2025 (legal knowledge competence exam for solicitors in England/Wales) report a pass rate of just 41%. Even excluding repeat takers, it's just 46%. sqe.sra.org.uk/news-item/20.... The SQE1 pass rate has never exceeded 56%. This should be a red flag for the SRA. 1/
sqe.sra.org.uk
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 4d
ACC reports growth in number of in-house counsel outstripped growth in law firm lawyers 87%-23% since 2008: www.law360.com/pulse/modern.... Two thoughts:

1. This is mostly just redistribution of lawyers from multi-client private practice to single-client employment.
2. AI will shrink both numbers.
In-House Counsel Numbers Grow Much Faster Than Outside - Law360 Pulse
A report from the Association of Corporate Counsel released Tuesday highlights "a dramatic and consistent rise in the number of in-house lawyers" in the U.S., showing that their numbers have nearly do...
www.law360.com
jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 6d
“Revolutions and long weekends don’t go together”: Georgia Meloni giving it her best Marie Antoinette.
financialtimes.com
Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 6d
Italy paralysed as Gaza protests mount pressure on Meloni on.ft.com/433zjAJ
Italy paralysed as Gaza protests mount pressure on Meloni
Italian premier under fire amid strikes and clashes with police in solidarity with Palestinians
on.ft.com
jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 7d
All states are purple. Both Republicans and Democrats prefer to overlook this.
pbump.com
Philip Bump @pbump.com · 8d
Some statistics about the 16 blue states Russ Vought wants to target:
- 39% of the country lives in those states.
- They contribute 44% of GDP.
- They are also home to almost a third of 2024 Trump voters, some 24 million of them.
www.pbump.net/o/sorry-abou...
Sorry about your luck, 24 million Trump voters
It has been the case since Donald Trump's first tenure as president that he wants to slice the size of the federal workforce. During his period in the political wilderness (also known as the Biden adm...
www.pbump.net
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 8d
“It takes two to lie, Marge. One to lie, and one to listen.”
rockshrimp.bsky.social
Willow @rockshrimp.bsky.social · 8d
what's the stupidest/randomest Simpsons quote that lives in your head rent free? Mine is the urge to say "you said go to bread" every time I am about to head to bed.
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Reposted by Jordan Furlong
pbump.com
Philip Bump @pbump.com · 10d
It is undeniable that this moment is being shaped by people who marinated for years in an informational environment where reality was not only demoted but actively disdained. It took a while for that bubble to become impermeable but it did and now we have a chunk of people who know nothing but.
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 13d
When I wrote last week about the divergence of law firms from lawyers, I foreshadowed this: As trial work migrates to boutiques and tech takes over most commercial law tasks, a lot of firms will dwindle to a small band of rainmakers overseeing a lot of AI. jordanfurlong.substack.com/p/the-diverg...
The divergence of law firms from lawyers
LLMs' absorption of legal task performance will drive law firms towards commoditized service hubs while raising lawyers to unique callings as trustworthy legal guides — so long as we do this right.
jordanfurlong.substack.com
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 13d
"Full-service" law firms that handle both commercial and litigation matters can work, up to a certain size anyway. But as this article suggests, "BigLaw" is really only corporate law firms now; litigation is a secondary distraction. Look for this divergence to continue. www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
Trial Separation: Courtroom Lawyers Are Breaking Up With Big Law
Top litigators are leaving elite firms to start boutique firms, a trend that is accelerating in the Trump era.
www.wsj.com
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jordanfurlong.com
Jordan Furlong @jordanfurlong.com · 13d
There are clear cases of AI's applicability to legal tasks, there are edge cases, and there are "of course not" cases. Letting AI anywhere near the drafting of court judgments is squarely in the third category - if for no other reason than public confidence in the courts. www.law.com/legaltechnew...
AI Opinion-Drafting Tools Are Emerging, but Will They Gain Traction With Judges? | Law.com
Some on the bench are already employing gen AI to help draft routine orders, but even as specialized tools become available, judges remain cautious about just how far the tech’s uses extend.
www.law.com
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