> went to a relative handful of law schools, clerked for federal court justices including SCOTUS, and work at white shoe big city law firms

This is the "not what you know, it's WHO you know" pattern. I imagine it's likely to accelerate. It'll still be important to go to the right university and pay expensive tuition - probably even MORE important - but you'll be able to have AI do most of the tedious, irrelevant academic side while you focus on the very important business of going to parties with the right people.