Minutes into the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” story, the main character’s father loses his job to the shiny red robot at the toothpaste factory. The tale now rings familiar for some legal professionals, except here the toothpaste factory is the legal industry and the performant red machine is generative artificial intelligence.

A recent report from Wolters Kluwer and Above the Law found that a majority of legal professionals see generative AI replacing certain back-office and support positions, with 41% believing the technology is a threat to paralegals specifically.

Several paralegals spoke to Legaltech News about how they’re preparing for the generative AI wave, with some worrying about the stability of their roles, while others are preparing for their responsibilities to evolve.