Thomson Reuters revealed further research into the impact of AI on the legal profession. There is little doubt that AI is having a significant impact on the work of lawyers. In its “2024 generative AI in professional services” it revealed that 81% said GenAI can be applied to their work. While only 54% believe that GenAI should be applied to their work. However, usage of Gen AI is accelerating. In February 2024, 26% of lawyers were using GenAI, double the amount from 6 months previously.
With such a rapid increase in the use of GenAI, this latest research shows a growing divide between AI leaders and laggards. It also seems likely that lawyers are increasingly concerned by that divide. 36% of US lawyers are now concerned about falling behind on AI adoption; however, 57% of UK lawyers are concerned about it. The concern translates to a fear that falling behind will have a ‘negative’ or ‘catastrophic’ impact on their firms.
When there is a fear of missing out, there is a clear opportunity. Last year’s report indicated that GenAI was seen as a minimal threat by 44%, somewhat of a threat by 32% and a major threat by 10%. This latest research found that 57% of UK lawyers expect AI to to boost revenue growth. They also see a great urgency to adopt AI now.
Kriti Sharma, Chief Product Officer for Legal Tech at Thomson Reuters, says, “There is a concern amongst UK lawyers that AI will provide such a strong competitive advantage that they could fall far behind their peers if their firm lags on AI adoption.”
“Firms that are utilising AI technology to take on tasks such as legal drafting and research are seeing return on investment today through increased productivity. The case for AI in law firms isn’t a hypothetical anymore. More and more firms understand that every month without adopting AI is a lost opportunity to understand and leverage the technology.”
AI leaders see benefits of AI Adoption
AI is delivering on the promised benefits. 94% of ‘AI Leader’ law firms say they are already seeing the benefits of using AI technology. For those slower to adopt AI, only 51% are seeing them. The research does not appear to have any qualitative element which explores why the followers are seeing fewer benefits. More importantly, what have they invested in differently from the leaders?
70% of the leaders also feel that AI will help increase revenues over the next 12 months. The average is 40%, and followers only 19%. This is counter to a recent study co-authored by the Georgetown Law’s Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession, which indicated, “The report predicts that demand will likely weaken this year, noting that law firms have historically struggled to maintain long-term growth.”
Perhaps the research might have focused more on profitability, with Thomson Reuters estimating that AI tools could save lawyers over 200 hours per layer every year by 2029. Not investing in AI seems like a poor decision. 75% of all organisations believe that moving slowly will have a ‘negative’ or ‘catastrophic’ effect on their organisation. However, AI followers are sceptics, with only 34% believing this. Do they have their head in the sand?
Not just about profitability
For the laggards, there are other risks. Retention and recruitment are potential concerns. While 68% of employees of ‘AI Leader’ firms say they will ‘definitely’ or ‘almost definitely’ stay at their organisations for the next 12 months, only 48% for employees of ‘AI Follower’ firms will.
Sharma says, “There is a real gap emerging between law firms that are rolling out AI-powered solutions and firms that have been more tentative. Those that have adopted AI are already expecting greater revenue growth and better employee retention.
“The other advantage of early adoption is having more time to understand the technology and adapt to it. This includes training lawyers to use AI and developing internal procedures governing where AI can be used.
“We work with our customers in the legal profession to help them understand which tools are best suited to the challenges they want to solve, highlighting how AI enhances their work without replacing their expertise. We have decades of experience developing AI tools for our clients and leveraging our deep understanding of their businesses to help them navigate change.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
From the media briefing shared with Enterprise Times, it isn’t clear when this new research was conducted. What is clear, however, is that attitudes are changing rapidly and that lawyers are looking to increase the adoption of AI. Without a more comprehensive survey and some qualitative interviews there is a lot of information missing.
If Thomson Reuters produces another Generative AI in professional services in 2025, the findings will be interesting. Also, with the rise of Agentic AI, will that also have an impact on lawyers’ work? While GenAI can make a significant difference to the productivity of lawyers, will Agentic AI help to replace many of the tasks that junior lawyers perform? Will this bring a challenge in the longer term as the legal profession relies increasingly on technology?
