In today’s interview, we are speaking with Thierry Wickers, a member of the Bordeaux Bar. He was President (bâtonnier) of the Bordeaux Bar and has held various positions within the French Bar, including President of the National Council of Bars (2009–2011). He is the author of a book on the profession entitled “La grande transformation des avocats” (The Great Transformation of Lawyers) and one of the authors of “Règles de la profession d’avocat” (Rules of the Legal Profession), a reference work on ethical and professional rules. He is the current President of the CCBE (2025).

Today, we explore with him how artificial intelligence is reshaping legal services, what challenges it poses for lawyers, and how professional bodies like the CCBE are responding to these rapid technological shifts.

We understand you have a distinguished background in the legal profession and currently serve as President of the CCBE. Could you briefly share what led you to engage with the field of AI and digital transformation?

There is nothing more stimulating than change and innovation. I have always been interested in the impact of information technology on the legal profession and on client behaviour. A long time ago, I spent many hours coding and wrote management software for my firm. You can’t use AI without mastering prompt writing. Writing structured prompts is just as exciting as computer coding.

While the article reflects your personal perspective, not the official position of CCBE, could you briefly introduce CCBE to our readers?

Many of them are not lawyers and may not yet be familiar with its mission. To get to the heart of the matter, the CCBE is the voice of lawyers in Europe. Through its members, the national bar associations, the CCBE represents more than one million lawyers in Europe. It is the interlocutor of the European institutions. It works to defend the role of lawyers and bar associations in a democratic society. It promotes the values of the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, and access to justice. It was the CCBE that identified the need for a binding legal instrument to protect lawyers and their independence. The Council of Europe’s Luxembourg Convention on the Protection of Lawyers is the result of the CCBE’s efforts.

How is artificial intelligence currently reshaping the landscape of professional services, such as legal, accounting, and consulting fields?

The first thing that will change is the customer’s journey. Customers were already in the habit of looking for answers on the internet. Now, their reflex will be to submit their problems to AI. It is through dialogue with AI that they will become aware of the nature of their problem. They will also ask AI for advice on choosing the professional best suited to deal with the problem. The AI then gives the customer the opportunity to evaluate the quality of the professional’s work, putting an end to the information asymmetry that characterizes the market for trust goods. Finally, it is clear that AI will lead to a reduction in the cost of all intellectual services, particularly legal services.

What do you see as the most pressing challenges AI poses to lawyers? In your view, who holds responsibility when AI is deployed in legal work – the lawyer or the system? And should lawyers bill for AI-assisted work?

We must start with issues related to confidentiality and data protection. Lawyers have a duty to guarantee the confidentiality of the data entrusted to them by their clients. They must therefore ensure that the tools they use are compatible with confidentiality requirements. I would also like to emphasize the need for adequate training for lawyers, not only those entering the profession, but also all others. To use a well-known phrase, AI may not make lawyers disappear, but it will certainly eliminate those who do not know how to use it. Another challenge is that of human supervision in the organization of law firms. If the machine is more qualified than the lawyer, the latter is not able to judge the relevance of the AI’s response. This is a situation that must be avoided at all costs. Obviously, law firms will also have to review their business model: if legal services take less time to deliver, their price should decrease. Of course, there may be a temptation to continue billing as if nothing has changed, without passing on the lower production costs to the client. But firms that behave in this way will find it difficult to remain in the market once some of their competitors are able to offer equivalent services at lower prices.

We heard the argument that AI tools used in the legal profession should be licensed or approved by national bar associations. What is your view on that?

Bar associations can indeed consider assisting lawyers by identifying tools that comply with ethical rules. However, there are other initiatives that bar associations must take. Firstly, bar associations have a duty to provide all lawyers with high-quality training in the use of AI. They can also take initiatives to pool costs and enable lawyers to access artificial intelligence tools on affordable terms. As I practice in France, I can cite the initiative taken by the Paris Bar Association in this area. It is also the role of bar associations, through the publication of ethical rules or guidelines for use, to draw lawyers’ attention to the precautions they must take when choosing tools. The CCBE will soon publish guidelines for lawyers. I will conclude by mentioning another initiative by the French Bar Association. It has decided to invest in a solution, Juripredis, which is obviously fully compliant with the ethical rules governing lawyers. It uses a European LLM (Mistral) and is also remarkably effective and offered at very attractive prices.

Finally, do you believe AI will replace lawyers? If so, in which areas or functions?

I have already mentioned the fact that AI is shaking up the foundations of the relationship between lawyers and their clients by interfering in the process of choosing a lawyer or by allowing clients to assess the quality of a lawyer’s services. Artificial intelligence will also challenge the current economic model of the profession. Lawyers’ services are expensive, which makes it difficult for many people to access the law and justice. The use of AI should reduce the cost of legal services. The number of people who can afford to pay for a lawyer should increase. I do not believe that lawyers will disappear. However, I do believe that we will see the rules governing the legal services market being challenged. If all goes well, a new balance should be found, with services becoming less expensive and more accessible to a greater number of citizens, which should lead to progress in terms of access to the law and the rule of law.

The use of AI should reduce the cost of legal services. The number of people who can afford to pay for a lawyer should increase.

— Thierry Wickers, President of the CCBE, Member of the Bordeaux Bar