Rachel Proffitt, CEO of Silicon Valley law firm Cooley, says generative AI will allow large law firms to identify which lawyers are likely to become top business‑generators years earlier than today — and to move on from associates who contribute less value.
Historically, Big Law has advanced junior lawyers on a slow timetable: associates progress in near‑lockstep for several years before leadership decides whether they are partner material — that is, whether they can bring in new business rather than only execute work — or quietly shift them into counsel roles or to smaller firms. Proffitt argues that as AI takes on much of the execution work, firms "could start making those types of determinations earlier."
"I hate to single it out to charisma, but there will need to be an increasing element of value‑add," Proffitt said on a recent podcast episode. She compared the legal profession to the software industry, where pure technical coding skills are becoming less important than product design and business development. "You need big thinkers... people who can help design strategy and not just do the execution piece," she added.
According to Proffitt, this faster sorting can work both ways: it can help leaders spot the "superstars who come to this business [with] high EQ" and strong technical and networking skills and accelerate their promotion, while also enabling firms to more quickly identify and separate out less value‑creating lawyers.
She suggested the same dynamic will play out throughout the pyramid‑shaped workforces of the knowledge economy. For example, junior bankers released from spreadsheet‑bound tasks might spend more time building client relationships or pitching coverage strategies, thereby demonstrating the skills that could speed their advancement — an optimistic framing often used by senior executives to reassure anxious junior staff.
Proffitt has led Cooley since 2024; the firm has long been seen as more technology‑forward than its East Coast rivals. The article notes that the firm announced last month it is building an AI‑powered self‑service portal for more routine legal work.
In the same conversation, Proffitt also touched on other long‑anticipated industry shifts: the predicted demise of the billable hour (suggesting this time it may be real), what a law firm built from scratch today might look like, and whether private equity will ever own a stake in Big Law. The source article mentions these topics but does not provide detailed positions or timelines.
Why this matters: much of legal work consists of repeatable, structured tasks that generative AI can increasingly perform. As execution is automated, more of the profession's economic value will rest on strategy, client development and product‑level thinking. That change could reshape not only individual career trajectories but also law‑firm structures and business models.
