If you still think that the legal profession is glacially slow to change, think again. Since generative AI hit the market, corporate in-house legal professionals have moved fast to investigate – and embrace – generative AI technology in their work. They’re also broadly optimistic about the potential positive impacts GenAI will have on their professional development.

These and other insights stem from the just-released survey, GenAI and Future Corporate Legal Work: How Ready Are In-House Teams?

Developed in partnership with the Association of Corporate Counsel, the report offers a snapshot of GenAI adoption rates and captures the views of 475 CLOs, GCs, and other US in-house legal professionals about the potential impacts on their departments and careers.

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Key Findings from Everlaw and the ACC

1. GenAI adoption rates are accelerating

Contrary to their historically conservative approach to new technologies, in-house legal professionals are driving change within their organizations. 

Twenty-three percent of respondents say they’re already using GenAI tools in legal practice. An additional 15 percent are running beta programs or proofs of concept. And 52 percent are talking to vendors or evaluating technology through research or learning about potential use cases.

Only 10 percent say they have no plans to use GenAI.

That said, no one is throwing caution to the wind. Concerns about the new technology abound, particularly about non-lawyers relying on GenAI for legal guidance, the possibility of errors, and ethical dilemmas. 

2. Expectations about the impact of GenAI are running high

Nearly half of survey participants (45 percent) say the impact of GenAI on legal professionals will be significant, particularly for boosting efficiency and effectiveness. Another 11 percent expect a fundamental shift in the nature of legal work.  

Compared to prior years, the momentum is clear. About half (49 percent) of those surveyed this year expect reduced operational costs from AI, up from 33 percent of respondents who looked to technology and AI to control costs in the 2023 survey, and quadruple from the 12% saying the same in the 2022 survey.

Legal professionals in the IT and telecommunications sectors are the most bullish, with 66 percent of the former and 64 percent of the latter saying they believe that GenAI will have a significant or transformative impact. 

These changes are coming soon. A third (30 percent) expect to reap tangible results within a year and slightly more (36 percent) say it will take two years.

3. Greater efficiency and savings are already a reality for users

Even more notable: 25 percent say they’re already seeing cost savings and nearly 40 percent say they’re able to deliver better client service thanks to GenAI. 

Those benefits are largely being driven by the ability to complete rote, repetitive, and routine tasks with greater speed with the help of GenAI. To this point, a whopping 86 percent say that they’re already reaping the benefits of increased efficiency.

Chief legal officers and mid-level attorneys are the most likely to report efficiency gains as a top benefit (93 percent each).

The expectation for in-house teams to cut costs with AI is becoming a reality.
- Gloria Lee, CLO, Everlaw

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Chief legal officers and legal operations professionals are in-house power users of GenAI, with 79 percent of CLOs using it at least weekly and a full third saying they use it every day. Seventy-seven percent of legal ops professionals report using GenAI at least weekly. 

4. Optimism outweighs doubts about career prospects

It is clear that organizations have a ways to go in providing more training and resources to help legal professionals navigate GenAI impacts on roles and teams. A vast majority (75 percent) of survey participants say their department is not yet prepared to deal with the looming talent challenges. 

Despite these concerns, most (60 percent) are looking forward to positive changes to their careers in the age of GenAI. Legal operations professionals, the drivers of innovation and efficiency in legal organizations, are the most optimistic (73 percent), and mid-level attorneys come in at the comparatively lowest levels of enthusiasm, with 54 percent claiming optimism.

Petra is a writer and editor focused on the ways that technology makes the work of legal professionals easier and more productive. Before Everlaw, Petra covered the business of law as a reporter for ALM and worked for two Am Law 100 firms.