New advances in artificial intelligence mean plenty of speculation on its use, especially in the legal industry. Will today's lawyers be tomorrow's AI-powered robots? Are paralegals about to be replaced by machines? Will cases soon be decided by an AI judge?

The evidence points to no, at least not any time soon. Researchers at McKinsey suggest less than 5% of occupations are "candidates for full automation." However, they do suggest that virtually all occupations have automation potential, meaning some portion of their activities could be automated in the future.

Yes, some aspects of the legal profession can be left to technology tools, including paperwork, manual administration, and document review. However, when it comes to AI completely replacing a human professional's judgment, decision making skills, or problem solving capabilities, it's not likely something the industry should worry about in years to come.