AI: The magic button for law firms?
Six out of 10 lawyers are using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) for work purposes and most of the rest plan to use it, new research has found.
It also said small law firms were twice as likely as large or medium-sized firms to “rely heavily on AI for day-to-day work”.
A majority of lawyers (56%) said they spent time saved by using AI on increasing billable work, while almost as many (53%) said they used it to enjoy a better work-life balance.
The other options, which were much less popular, were led by building stronger client relationships (27%), focusing on personal development, investing in team development or chasing new business (20%).
LexisNexis gathered responses from over 700 legal professionals in the UK for the report, The AI Culture Clash.
There has been a “sharp increase” in the proportion of lawyers using GenAI at work, from 46% in January this year to 61% now. The proportion saying they had no plans to use it fell from 15% to just 6%.
In-house corporate lawyers were most likely to say they relied heavily on AI for day-to-day work, followed by lawyers at small firms and academics. Lawyers at large or medium-sized firms were both near the bottom of the table on 7%, less than half the figure for small firms.
When asked to describe their firm’s AI culture, lawyers were most likely to reply that they were “experimenting, but progress is slow”.
The next most popular response was “there’s interest but little investment”, followed by the more positive view that “AI is embedded in our strategy and operations”.
A small minority of lawyers said either that there was “resistance or fear around AI in their firms” or “we don’t talk about AI at all”.
Three-quarters of lawyers were concerned that, by using AI, they would end up relying on inaccurate or fabricated information.
The other main fears were leaking confidential data or becoming too reliant on AI, both on 47%.
But LexisNexis argued that law firms lagging behind with adoption of AI faced a “talent retention risk”.
Almost a fifth of respondents said they would consider leaving their law firm or in-house legal department if it failed to invest in AI.
The proportion of lawyers saying AI would change how their law firms billed rose from 40% in January this year to 47% – and from 37% to 55% among general counsel.
A slender majority (51%) used legal AI tools at work, as opposed to general AI tools, although the figure was 58% among those working in private practice.
Stuart Greenhill, senior director of segment management at LexisNexis UK, commented: “Lawyers are proving that AI delivers clear commercial returns. They’re using it to win back time historically spent on mundane tasks, rethink pricing models, and deliver more value to clients.
“Firms that treat AI as a strategic investment, not just an efficiency tool, will gain a decisive edge in profitability and client satisfaction.”
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