7 Predictions For 2026 That Should Come True But Won't - Above the Law

"Who could have predicted what 2025 would bring? As the legal profession kicked off last year, we expected another tour de force of Biglaw standing up for those targeted by the Trump administration like the firms did in 2017, we figured that AI hallucinations would become a thing of the past as lawyers learned from others, and we felt confident that at least we wouldn't be talking about summer associates biting people at elite law firms."

"In fact, this year managed to throw doubt on the Third, Fourteenth, and Twenty-Second Amendments, foiling many a 2025 Bingo card. But 2026 is a new year! With hours to go on this steaming dumpster fire of a year in legal, let us usher in the next year with a bolus of positivity and gaze into our crystal balls to predict the many ways the legal profession will make the world better over the coming year."

"Rumors of the billable hour's demise have been greatly exaggerated for decades. Forecasting the end of hourly billing is a cheap way to spice up a prediction roundup. The thousand, "well, actually, the billable hour isn't going anywhere" takes this item will trigger generates enough smug self-satisfaction to keep offices warm for weeks. But there's something different about it this time, right? Famous last words in the prediction racket... but that's why we're focused on predictions that aren't going to come true."

2025 upended expectations across the legal world, with Biglaw dynamics, persistent AI hallucinations, and shocking associate incidents. Constitutional uncertainty emerged as key decisions cast doubt on established amendments. 2026 arrives with guarded optimism and predictions about improvement, but skepticism remains. The billable hour has resisted prior death sentences, yet early signs show erosion driven by growing artificial intelligence adoption. Client pressure and firm competition historically challenged hourly billing; AI now acts as a new force creating cracks in time-based billing models and prompting renewed attention to alternative pricing and efficiency.

Read at Above the Law