Nearly two thirds of lawyers are now using artificial intelligence to support them in their roles, but appear to be doing it off their own back. Only 17% of lawyers say their firm has a ‘fully embedded’ AI strategy and operation, with two-thirds reporting their organisation’s AI culture is slow or non-existent.
However, adoption is up since the start of the year when the same survey found 41% of lawyers were using AI in their roles; an increase of 15% in around eight months.
‘The AI culture clash’, a new report from LexisNexis, suggests there is a gap between the desire of lawyers to adopt AI (the proportion of lawyers with no plans to adopt AI has dropped from 15% to just 6%) and the attitudes of firms towards embracing the technology.
Around 40% of firms say they are ‘experimenting’ with AI, but acknowledge progress is slow, according to LexisNexis’ research. A similar number say their organisation is ‘interested’ but won’t invest, are ‘fearful or resistant’ to AI, or simply don’t talk about it.
Whether they are already using AI or intend to, professionals hope using the technology will help to increase billable work (56% for those already using AI/61% for those planning to) and enjoy a better work/life balance (53%/40%). Large law firms say they are benefitting most compared to other sizes of firm, with 61% of large firms, 55% of medium firms and 49% of small firms saying they are using the time saved by AI to increase billable work.
Private practice lawyers are using the time saved by AI to both drive commercial outcomes and improve wellbeing. Over half (56%) reported spending the extra time saved using AI to increase billable work, while 53% said they have used the time to enjoy a better work-life balance.
While speed of adoption is increasing, the research identifies a number of key factors stalling progress. As with the above numbers, a clear understanding on the return on investment is ‘elusive’, said Sarah Barnard, director of AI delivery at Linklaters and a contributor to the research.
Firms are waiting to see clearer evidence of the potential impact before making that investment. One area of discussion is how the use of AI will start to skew the traditional billable hour as time becomes a less illustrative measure of output. There are concerns clients’ expectations of fees could lower because AI delivers quicker results and with a growing number of firms tracking time saved (over half now using it as a measure of success), the report suggests new models of billing are ‘imminent rather than speculative’.
Another factor stalling progress according to LexisNexis is clear direction from leaders in firms. Writing in the report Michelle Holford, chief commercial officer from Slaughter and May, said AI required ‘clear strategic direction and communication from the top’ with an understanding of the direct impact on clients and staff. But, she added, ‘you have to make time and space for people to learn how to use the tools’.
“It’s not always easy to create the space for those things to happen in a fast-moving, high-pressure environment but doing so reaps rewards.”
Change management is another key component to successful integration, according to Eversheds Sutherland’s director of legal technology Bhavisa Patel:
“You can have the best solution, but if people don’t know what it is, how to use it, or how it will help them, the benefits will always be limited.”
There is a growing expectation from lawyers that firms engage with and adopt AI, with associated risks to recruitment and retention for those who don’t; nearly one in five (18%) private practice lawyers said they would consider leaving their organisation if it failed to adequately invest in AI. This figure rose to 26% among those at large law firms.
On a personal level, there is also increasing recognition of the career risks associated with failing to engage with AI, with 39% suggesting it could negatively impact their future career. There seems to be an increasing understanding AI may not take the jobs of lawyers, but the lawyers who harness AI more effectively will prevail of those who do not.
Commenting on the findings, Stuart Greenhill, senior director of segment management at LexisNexis UK, said:
“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”
One Response
This survey appears very much slanted towards larger firms doing billable hour work, so not sure how relevant it is to fixed fee conveyancing work.
In our experience, take-up is considerably less than this figure given the variant nature of conveyancing cases.
However, it is clear that AI use by clients has increased significantly over the past 6 months and conveyancers must take steps to engage with this technology to pre-empt this real threat of litigation.