Fax machines, Excel spreadsheets and generic draft memos will all become obsolete practices by 2035, legal experts quipped at the India ADR Week 2026 in Mumbai.
They added that human traits like reading a courtroom, maintaining independence and exercising strategic judgment will become the most valuable professional assets.
These insights surfaced during a rapid-fire segment at India ADR Week 2026 in Mumbai. The session featured a discussion on the topic The Last Apprentice: Who Trains the Lawyers and Experts of 2035?
Neeti Sachdeva, Registrar and Secretary General of the MCIA, steered the debate. The discussion highlighted how artificial intelligence is redefining practitioner training.
The panel featured Wadia Ghandy & Co Co-Managing Partner Bindi Dave, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Partner Andrew Cannon, FTI Consulting Senior Managing Director Karthik Balisagar and Nicholas Peacock, Arbitrator at Peacock Arbitration.
During the rapid-fire segment, Sachdeva asked the speakers to name one skill that will disappear by 2035, and one skill that will gain value. Peacock pointed to outdated communication tools,
"Sending a fax is a skill I haven't needed to break out for a few years, that's probably gone!” he said.
Balisagar targeted data work, stating,
“Excel skills will become obsolete very soon, if it hasn't already."
Cannon highlighted routine writing.
“The ability to produce a competent generic first draft of things will be automated for the vast majority of things that we do day to day. And that will become obsolete."
Dave warned against losing strategic thinking.
“I think if you get completely dependent on AI, then strategy is something that probably may go out of the window,” she said.
The discussion then shifted to the capabilities that will be most sought after in 2035. Peacock emphasised on the ability to determine what is private and confidential.
"In many of our private lives, especially the next generation, you are living a lot more without much privacy or confidentiality, maybe you're giving it up willingly or unthinkingly. And I think the use of AI brings with it an awful lot of questions around where the boundaries of confidentiality are,” he said.
Balisagar stressed on the art of persuasion while remaining independent, whereas Dave prioritised adaptability, stating that thinking on your feet is something that will become very valuable.
Cannon underscored human connection:
"The skills that make us fundamentally human, that's what will be the most valuable."
The broader panel discussion focused on how AI is transforming legal research and practitioner training. They concluded that human mentorship and strategic judgment remain irreplaceable.
Dave firmly rejected automated mentoring.
"We don't want AI to be training our juniors," she said.
The panel highlighted the hazards of overconfident AI tools. Cannon cited two rulings in which an unchecked AI hallucination slipped past three tiers of lawyers straight to an English judge, due to a 19% error spike on niche issues.
The panel also addressed expert witness credibility. Balisagar warned of AI 'correlation bias' across large language models. He remarked that tribunals in 2035 will ultimately ask whether "the expert is independent of the machine."