That, of course, isn’t what happened.
In the decades that followed, as ATMs were rolled out, teller employment actually grew faster than the broader labor force. While the machines automated one part of their job (cash handling), they lowered the cost of running bank branches, leading to more locations and more tellers.
Even more importantly, the job itself changed. Tellers focused less on transactions and more on service, problem-solving and sales. They became more important to the bank’s revenue engine and more connected to its success.
This pattern of automation removing friction rather than eliminating roles has repeated itself across industries. With less focus on repeatable, low-impact tasks, workers develop new and often technology-adjacent skills that make their roles more engaging and more valuable. We’ve seen it in accounting, engineering, publishing and, yes, even in legal. The rise of eDiscovery did not eliminate paralegals; it expanded their numbers and elevated their responsibilities.
This pattern of automation removing friction rather than eliminating roles has repeated itself across industries.
Today, law firms have a similar opportunity with the support function.
Many firms are struggling to backfill senior staff, particularly experienced legal secretaries who spent decades providing deeply embedded, partner-aligned support. BigHand’s 2025 Legal Workflow Leadership Report found that 41% of firms expect 21-40% of their support staff to retire in the next five years.
These professionals anticipate needs, handle client interactions and serve as operational anchors. As they retire or leave the workforce, replacing them ‘like for like’ is extraordinarily difficult.
At the same time, firms face mounting pressure to engage the next generation of support professionals. The newer cohort is less interested in purely administrative roles defined by printing, filing and inbox monitoring. They want growth, specialization and a clearer connection between their work and the firm’s success.
AI, deployed thoughtfully, can relieve much of that pressure. It can free them from low-value friction so they can do higher-value, firm-specific work. The technology that ensures requests are captured, prioritized and assigned efficiently is the foundation. Layering AI on top can accelerate routine tasks, draft first passes, extract key information and reduce time spent on mechanical work that does not require human judgment.
