A recruiter’s perspective
It’s a question that’s being asked more and more loudly: will AI take over our jobs? Open LinkedIn and your feed is flooded with predictions, opinions, and worst-case scenarios. What strikes me is that the loudest voices insisting their jobs cannot be replaced often come from those working in the most automation-prone sectors. “The human element can’t be automated,” they claim.
As a headhunter specialising in partner-level profiles for law firms, and as co-founder of JustLawyers – a matchmaking platform that removes the middleman from the recruitment process for junior lawyers – I’m often asked: “Do you still see a future for your own profession?”
The image of the recruiter
Let’s be honest: recruitment doesn’t have the best reputation. It’s often seen as a fallback career for those without specialised skills who are simply looking to make quick money. And sadly, reality too often confirms that stereotype.
There are plenty of stories about recruiters who simply pass on CVs without any follow-up, added value, or long-term thinking. Just last week, a managing partner shared a telling example with me: a recruiter forwarded a CV and then disappeared. The candidate tried to follow up multiple times, received no response, and eventually applied directly to the firm – successfully. Within 24 hours, the firm received an invoice from that same recruiter, charging for “services rendered”.
Do these kinds of cowboys represent the entire sector? No. But are they the majority? In my experience: unfortunately, yes.
What AI can replace
AI excels at repetitive, data-driven tasks: scanning CVs, matching keywords, and efficiently filtering candidates based on preset parameters. Recruiters who see these tasks as their core function have a serious problem: that job is going to disappear.
There is simply no valid reason for a law firm to continue paying someone to do what a well-calibrated AI tool can do better, faster, and cheaper – especially in a sector that is becoming increasingly critical of time, efficiency, and cost.
What AI cannot replace
Recruiters who go beyond just forwarding profiles – those who position themselves as strategic partners – are future-proof. A good headhunter offers insight into market trends, understands the cultural nuances between firms, maintains a strong candidate network, and provides long-term guidance.
Empathy, trust-building, strategic thinking, and sector-specific knowledge – those are the true differentiators. And they are human skills that won’t be replaced by AI anytime soon.
In that sense, I don’t view AI as a threat, but rather as a natural filter. It forces the industry to reflect: are you really adding value, or not?
Why I founded JustLawyers
JustLawyers is a direct result of this vision. Not a traditional recruiter selling candidates to the highest bidder, but a neutral matchmaking platform that efficiently connects supply and demand.
For junior lawyers overwhelmed by recruiter messages, it offers a welcome alternative. And for law firms, it’s a breath of fresh air: they can directly contact interested candidates, without an intermediary whose only motivation may be their commission.
That doesn’t mean traditional recruitment is dead. But it does mean that certain recruiters will need to reinvent themselves. Good recruiters have nothing to fear from the rise of AI. On the contrary: those already focused on long-term relationships, trust, market insight, and a strong network will remain relevant. AI simply separates the wheat from the chaff. The cowboys – those driven solely by commission, with no real understanding of candidates or firms – will be outcompeted by recruiters who combine their human strengths with smart automation.
I don’t believe those recruiters will adapt. Those who operate as glorified CV brokers, chasing quick wins, rarely have the mindset or patience to invest in genuine, long-term relationships. Platforms like JustLawyers are designed precisely to make that kind of shallow mediation obsolete. A good recruiter knows that building trust takes time – and that’s where the real value lies.
Conclusion: evolve or get left behind
AI will fundamentally transform the recruitment industry. Denying this is naïve, and strategically short-sighted. The only meaningful question is: where does my real added value lie?
Anything that can be reduced to a predictable pattern will, sooner or later, be handled by AI.
But high-quality recruitment will continue to exist. Because this is a people business. Because listening, advising, guiding, and connecting are skills that technology – for now – simply cannot match.
AI will filter out the cowboys among us. And that might just be the best thing that could happen to our sector.
Isabel Rosendor
Co-founder JustLawyers
🔗 Read the full article in Dutch on Jubel.be: Worden recruiters overbodig door AI?