During the India ADR Week 2026 in Mumbai, legal experts forecasted the obsolescence of certain legal practices, such as the use of fax machines, Excel spreadsheets, and generic draft memos by the year 2035. They emphasized that human qualities such as courtroom acumen, independence, and strategic judgment would become increasingly valuable professional skills. These insights were shared in a rapid-fire segment titled ‘The Last Apprentice: Who Trains the Lawyers and Experts of 2035?’
Neeti Sachdeva, Registrar and Secretary General of the MCIA, moderated the discussion, which focused on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the training of legal practitioners. The panel included Bindi Dave, Co-Managing Partner at Wadia Ghandy & Co, Andrew Cannon, Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Karthik Balisagar, Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, and Nicholas Peacock, Arbitrator at Peacock Arbitration.
During the rapid-fire discussion, Sachdeva asked the panelists to identify one skill that would become obsolete by 2035 and one that would gain value. Nicholas Peacock pointed to outdated communication methods, noting, “Sending a fax is a skill I haven’t needed to use for years; that’s probably gone!” Karthik Balisagar commented on data skills, stating, “Excel skills will become obsolete very soon, if they haven’t already.” Andrew Cannon highlighted routine writing, saying, “The ability to produce a competent generic first draft will be automated for most tasks, making it obsolete.” Bindi Dave cautioned against over-reliance on AI, noting, “If you become completely dependent on AI, strategic thinking may fall by the wayside.”
The conversation then turned to the skills that will be most in demand by 2035. Peacock emphasized the importance of discerning privacy and confidentiality boundaries, stating, “The use of AI raises significant questions about where the boundaries of confidentiality lie.” Balisagar underscored the importance of persuasion and independence, while Dave highlighted adaptability and the ability to think on one’s feet. Cannon stressed the value of human connection, asserting, “The skills that make us fundamentally human will be the most valuable.”
The panel’s broader discussion centered on the impact of AI on legal research and practitioner training, concluding that human mentorship and strategic judgment are irreplaceable. Dave strongly opposed automated mentoring, saying, “We don’t want AI to be training our juniors.” The panel also discussed risks associated with AI, with Cannon referencing two legal cases where unchecked AI errors reached a judge due to a 19% error rate on niche issues. Balisagar addressed concerns about AI ‘correlation bias’ in large language models, cautioning that tribunals in 2035 will need to determine whether “the expert is independent of the machine.”
