The legal profession is in the midst of a genuine transformation. Technology is changing how work is performed, how lawyers learn, and how organizations develop talent. At the same time, the qualities that have always defined strong practice, sound judgment, clear communication, collaboration, and lasting client relationships, remain as essential as ever. The task ahead is to advance both at once.
The gap between what law school teaches and what practice now demands has been widening for some time, and technology is accelerating the trend. Firms need lawyers who are technically sound but also fluent with AI, attuned to the business, quick to adapt, and grounded in the human skills no tool can replicate. Closing that gap, and making personalized, AI-enabled learning a real differentiator, is where the next phase of professional development is headed.
That is the conversation BARBRI is bringing to PDC 2026.
BARBRI at PDC 2026
This July, BARBRI heads to Atlanta for the 2026 Professional Development Consortium (PDC) Summer Conference, three days that bring together legal professional development leaders to consider where the profession is headed. This year’s theme, Deep Roots, New Growth, fits the moment: the fundamentals of good lawyering endure, even as much of the work around them changes quickly. Here is where you’ll find us.
Panel: Training the Future Lawyer for the Modern Law Firm
On July 24, BARBRI Co-Chief Executive Officer Lucie Allen joins a group of professional development leaders to examine a question the industry keeps returning to: how do firms prepare lawyers for a role that has changed meaningfully in just a few years? The panel will explore how firms are working to close that gap. The discussion will cover:
The discussion will cover:
- Recruitment and work readiness in today’s legal market
- Accelerating learning and growth through experiential and AI-enabled training
- The enduring value of in-person learning, mentorship, and observation
- How technology is reshaping feedback, workflow design, and lawyer development
- Why personalized learning is becoming a differentiator for leading firms
Joining Lucie are Laura Beth Allen, Senior Business Development Coordinator at Bradley; Julia Montgomery, Director of Practice Enablement at King & Spalding; and Katherine Shell, Senior Director of Legal Professional Development at Husch Blackwell. Together, they’ll offer a practical, grounded perspective on aligning talent development with the realities of modern practice.
Hands-On: The AI Fluency Innovation Lab
Conversations about AI dominate the legal industry, yet many professionals still aren’t sure how to move from awareness to real capability. BARBRI’s AI Fluency Innovation Lab is designed to bridge that divide.
Led by BARBRI Head of Innovation Christian Lang, the workshop runs Thursday, July 23, from 2:15 to 4:15 p.m., and requires no coding or technical background. Rather than a traditional presentation, the session is built around guided, hands-on exercises, because confidence and sound judgment are developed through direct experience, not description alone. The lab explores two dimensions of AI learning: building fluency through experience, and using AI to develop people through an “associate coach” scenario that shows how AI can support feedback and reflection while complementing, rather than replacing, human mentorship. Participants will leave with:
- Practical experience using AI tools in a legal learning context
- A repeatable model for building AI confidence through experiential learning
- New ideas for integrating AI into professional development programs
- A clearer vision for preparing legal professionals for the future of work
Visit Our Booth
Whether you’d like to revisit an idea from a session, compare notes on the development challenges facing your team, or see what we’ve been building, our team would welcome the chance to connect. Some of the most valuable exchanges at PDC happen in exactly these moments, and we hope you’ll take advantage of them.
Interested in reading more? Fill out the form to read the full article.