10 Things Solo Lawyers Should Be Watching In 2025

What Important Things Are Impacting & Driving Legal Services For Sole Practitioners & Small Law Firms In 2025?

We’re well into 2025.

We want to share with you some things we’re watching closely and believe you, as solo lawyers, should be watching too for yourself, your clients, and the long-term benefit of your small law firm and the legal profession.

This year is shaping up to be have been one of considerable change - the kind we’ll look back on and say, all lot of things shifted.

At the centre of it all?

AI. Ai to improve your law firm efficiency.

Not just AI alone.

We could have called this blog post simply “AI Trends in the Legal Industry 2025” and left it there, because Generative AI has and is dominating the discourse this year.

But we’ve stayed as holistic as possible focused on things shaping not only the future of law but the future of solo lawyering.

Because the solo lawyers who look ahead of the game for their clients stay ahead of the game themselves.

It’s a cliché, but it matters more than ever.

We’ve never used the word disruption as often as we have in 2025.

Lawyering especially for solo solicitors is not just about having the best legal skills, nor the best AI agent.

The Need To Look At The Bigger Picture

Being a great solo lawyer still comes down to this - your ability to see what’s changing before everyone else does is essential for maintaining clients and attracting legal clients and ultimately having a profitable law firm.

To see the societal, cultural, business, and technological shifts that will impact your clients and your solo practice before they hit.

Yes, AI is everywhere.

It’s reshaping how we research, draft, bill, and even think.

But AI is an enabler, not a saviour.

It’s one part of a much bigger picture.

And the big question — “Can AI replace lawyers?” — doesn’t live in a tech silo.

It sits in the middle of society, culture, and trust.

The Things Solo Lawyers Should Be Watching In 2025

1. The Acceleration of AI and Automation

2. The Need For Continuous Learning and Reskilling

3. Cybersecurity & Deepfake Threats

4. Migration & Mobility

5. Generational Change

6. The Need for Better Business and Pricing Models

7. The Billable Hour

8. Client use of AI.

9. Mental Health, Resilience, and Wellbeing

10. Balancing Legacy and the Future

Paul Ippolito, Principal of Ippolito Advisory, is a coach for lawyers helping sole practitioners set up, launch, and grow their practices. He is available for media enquiries, speaking and consulting. You can contact him here.