3 YEARS OF DATA
IN-HOUSE TEAMS & LAW FIRMS
822 SURVEYED
The third edition of the State of AI in Legal report tracks shifting workloads, real-world AI impact, and the journey of a profession that’s steadily becoming the blueprint for how every team adopts AI.
1
EVOLUTION
Three years in,
legal has made up its mind
AI usage for legal work has grown to near-universal adoption
Percentage of legal professionals using AI for legal work
74%
69%
92%
2024
2025
2026
Percentage who believe AI benefits outweigh the risks
65%
59%
92%
2024
2025
2026
Percentage who believe AI creates more jobs than it eliminates
43%
46%
65%
2024
2025
2026
How did a profession known for caution become one of the fastest AI adopters in the enterprise?
2
CONTRACTING
Contract review is the #1most impactful AI use case
97%
report measurable business outcomes, not just legal ones
52%
experience faster response times to business stakeholders
50%
see faster contract turnaround times
42%
reduce outside counsel spend
AI has found its footing in contracting. Where else is legal seeing distinct wins?
3
WORKLOAD
AI has raised the bar,
and expectations
88%
report increased workloads across their teams
34%
report significantly increased workloads
54%
report somewhat increased workloads
If AI is saving time, why is everyone busier?
4
GOVERNANCE
Now that adoption is near-universal,attention is turning to scale
96%
would use AI more if accountability for errors was clearly defined
49%
have robust error policies in place
What does it actually take to go from experimenting with AI to trusting it at scale?
5
LEADERSHIP
Legal is emerging asthe organization’s AI authority
98%
have been asked by others about legal’s AI approach
32%
to learn from legal’s approach and apply it
24%
for compliance and risk guidance
42%
for both
What’s behind legal’s rise to the top?
Get the data. Lead the conversation.
