As one of the oldest professions in American society, the practice of law is traditionally one of the steadiest industries there is. Based on precedent and standing on tradition, U.S. courtrooms have operated in much the same manner for centuries, so it is with no small sense of unease that the industry has been forced to catch up to the rest of the world, especially as it pertains to technology in the name of innovation and change.
That change has hit suddenly and profoundly, shifting the way attorneys interact with clients, the courts and each other, and adapting to it easily represents the biggest challenge of the modern judicial system.
Kristin Pawlik
Kristin Pawlik, a partner at Miller, Butler, Schneider, Pawlik, Rozzell, which has offices in Rogers and Fayetteville, is an attorney dealing in high-conflict divorce, child custody matters,
employment and some criminal defense. She said technology has not only crossed the courtroom threshold, but it has become integral in the adjudication of cases due to its pervasiveness in client’s lives.
“I think it started probably early on in my practice handling family law and employment cases, where the social media aspect of it really had a lot of influence,” she said. “From the client perspective, they’re putting a lot more information about themselves out there for other people to see, and even if a client thinks they’re limiting the disbursement of that material, it usually can be found by somebody else who wants it. From a discovery standpoint, social media has provided a trove of information for the lawyer who wants to get information about the other side.”
According to the American Bar Association, such changes have hit and hit hard. For an industry that has traditionally slow-walked such advancements, many practitioners are in the uncomfortable position of racing to catch up.
“The legal system has traditionally lagged behind the rest of the nation in technology adoption. As tech plays an increasingly significant role in our lives, its presence in the courtroom is growing,” wrote Shannon Flynn in an ABA blog post. “With this increase in tech comes increasing evidence that attorneys who capitalize on it may see better results. As technology in the courtroom becomes more common, those who don’t use it will fall behind.
“Courtroom tech offers more advantages than making lawyers seem more up to date than their opponents too. Modern technology can help attorneys make a stronger case than ever. It gives courts access to a wealth of new evidence and new, engaging ways to present it.”
From social media to artificial intelligence, Pawlik said the challenges are not just between opposing counsel but routinely play a role between lawyers and their clients even before attorneys take a case.
“Another thing that can be a negative is the use of applications like ChatGPT,” she said. “Before a potential client even comes to see me, they might have used ChatGPT or another generative AI tool to either try to educate themselves or to solve a problem themselves. That’s not something that I would recommend.
“I try to explain to folks that for the most part, those generative applications are going to try to get you to the answer that the program thinks you want. It’s not necessarily finding the best answer; it’s finding an answer that best satisfies your prompt. I will have clients come to me and believe that they know the correct legal answer or the correct legal process when, in fact, they don’t. They’ve been ill advised by the technology.”
Writing for One Legal, Tiffany Sams sussed out other challenges that technology poses, including algorithm bias that undercuts fairness and garden-variety security issues that must be addressed in order for the legal system to work as it is intended to.
“The integration of technology in courts holds immense promise for transforming how the judicial system operates,” she wrote. “By making courts more accessible, efficient and secure, these innovations can help deliver justice more effectively.
“However, as we move forward, it is essential to balance this technological transformation with a commitment to fairness, neutrality and privacy. A truly modern court system is one where technology in courts serves not just the convenience of the institution but the rights and needs of all individuals involved.”
Another challenge the industry has been dealing with for some time is the number and distribution of new attorneys coming out of law school which, legal experts say, are two very different questions.
As reported by ABC News in May, law schools are experiencing a surge in interest, and 2025 applications are up nearly 21 percent over 2024 figures. By way of illustration, The Wall Street Journal noted Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., received 14,000 applications to fill 650 spots this year, and the University of Michigan Law School received the most applications in its 166-year history.
Elizabeth Caldwell
That trendline has not skipped Arkansas, according to Elizabeth Caldwell, partner at Newland and Associates in Little Rock.
“I would say as far as just keeping up with general demand, I don’t particularly see any issue in the number of law school graduates,” she said. “I have heard from people and read some articles that eventually there’s going to be a kind of a dip, so to speak, as a holdover from the recession, when people were having fewer children, but I don’t know if that will actually happen. I can say I’ve recently done on-campus interviews at [the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law], and there are definitely enough candidates.”
As Caldwell is quick to point out, however, having enough graduates and providing accessible legal services statewide are two distinctly different issues. In June, Iowa State University published the results of a study showing just how prevalent so-called “legal deserts” have become.
The study found half of the 2,307 rural counties in the contiguous U.S. have an insufficient number of practicing private attorneys. Legal-desert counties are more prevalent in the West and Southwest, particularly the 11 percent of rural counties categorized as “critical,” where there exists a deficit of -8.2 lawyers per 100,000 residents. About 29 percent of rural counties were classified “urgent,” at -5.6 lawyers/100,000 residents; and 23 percent were “emerging” deserts at -2.9.
“The idea of there being legal deserts and a dearth of attorneys willing to go work and provide services there, that’s an entirely different question than [the] number of candidates, and I think a serious one,” she said. “People can’t get, always, away to drive to Little Rock or drive over to Memphis, talking about eastern Arkansas for example, to speak to an attorney. I do think that is something that needs to be addressed, and while I don’t know that I’m the person to give you the answers on how to do it, it is certainly something that I think our state, in particular the eastern and southern areas of the state, are suffering from.”
The industry is also being shaped by the types of legal specialties in highest demand. While corporate law regularly tops the list of the most lucrative legal fields and cyber and intellectual property are specialties often cited as fastest growing, meat-and-potatoes specialties addressing man-on-the-street issues continue to lead many lists of most in-demand services. Topping the roster of sought-after specialties for 2025, according to The National Trial Lawyers, are personal injury and mass torts.
“Driven by increasing awareness of consumer rights, high-profile settlements and expanding litigation related to product liability and environmental harm, personal injury and mass torts remain a powerhouse in civil litigation,” the organization states. “With nuclear verdicts rising and plaintiff firms investing heavily in litigation tools and legal marketing, this area continues to top the list of high-demand legal specialties.
“In particular, cases involving trucking accidents, pharmaceuticals and toxic exposure (like PFAS chemicals) are drawing national attention. Firms specializing in these matters are experiencing increased case volume, heightened public scrutiny and significant financial outcomes.”
Andrew Norwood
Andrew Norwood, partner at central Arkansas firm Denton, Zachary & Norwood, said while the firm has had its share of encroachment by technology, he said success in his specialty is still rooted in intuitiveness, experience and, more than most people might think, personal chemistry.
“I always tell people when I sign them up, ‘Listen, attorney-client relationships are a lot like marriages. Not all of them work out,’” he said. “When it comes to clients, my best approach has always been, ‘I don’t work for you. You don’t work for me. We’re in this together.’”
Norwood said some clients bring an unrealistic expectation of what their case is worth, while others throw in the towel early because they just want to get the matter over with. He said his role, in addition to being the client’s legal representation, is to advise a best strategy based on the facts and circumstances of the case. It is a simple formula and one that hasn’t changed during his 10 years in practice.
“People call me all the time and go, ‘What’s my case worth?’” he said. “I always tell people, ‘Well, for one, I need to see your medical records. I need to see what your diagnoses are. I need to see what your actual injuries are, and even after that, I’m not going to have a full value of what I think your case is worth until after your deposition. Once you’ve been deposed by the other side and they get to ask you questions, I get to see how you hold up under that.’
“Listen, every case is different, and I say that coming from our firm, which is trying more cases than, probably, most. I get that clients might not see their case the same way as me, but different courts don’t always evaluate similar cases the same. I’ve had clients where I’ve got them an offer that was fair but it was less than they wanted and had those that settled their cases way cheaper than I thought their case was worth. That’s just part of it.”
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