Freshfields Bets £20K Per Head That Lawyers Need to Learn Robot Speak

Magic Circle meets Silicon Valley as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer rolls out the red carpet for its future stars, announcing an innovative partnership with King’s College London that’s got the legal world buzzing.

In a move that’s part investment strategy, part crystal ball gazing, the global law firm is fully funding LL.M degrees in Law & Technology for select trainees – a legal finishing school for the AI age.

Starting September 2025, lucky trainees will get their hands dirty with cutting-edge tech while Freshfields foots the bill, plus a generous £20,000 maintenance grant that’ll keep the ramen noodles at bay.

This isn’t just another corporate social responsibility tick-box exercise. Freshfields is essentially future-proofing its talent pipeline, recognizing that tomorrow’s legal eagles need to speak fluent algorithm as well as legalese. The program targets trainees from the firm’s 2025-2027 intakes, creating a tech-literate cohort ready to tackle whatever digital curveballs clients throw their way.

“We’re super-charging their skills,” says training principal Craig Montgomery, and he’s not mincing words. The best lawyers they’re hiring today will be steering the ship through the 2030s—when AI might be drafting contracts faster than you can say “blockchain dispute.”

The King’s College partnership adds serious academic muscle to the mix. Professor Dan Hunter promises trainees will join “one of the world’s finest law schools,” gaining expertise in artificial intelligence and digital law that’ll make them invaluable assets in an increasingly tech-driven legal landscape.

For trainees, it’s a great win, investing in careers that’ll be robot-proof. The program includes collaboration opportunities with Freshfields’ Innovation team and the Freshfields Lab, ensuring these future legal minds stay connected to real-world applications.

In an industry where legal technology training is becoming as essential as knowing Latin, Freshfields is clearly playing chess while others are still figuring out checkers.