Number of Legal Departments Using Gen AI Almost Doubles in a Year – Study

Why It Matters

The surge signals a fundamental shift in legal operations, driving efficiency while demanding new governance and skill‑building frameworks.

Key Takeaways

• 87% of GCs now use generative AI, up from 44%
• AI prioritized by 39% of legal departments for efficiency
• 83% use AI for summarisation, 70% for general queries
• Formal tech roadmaps rise to 53%, up from 25%
• 41% now have dedicated legal‑operations function, up from 29%

Pulse Analysis

The acceleration of generative AI adoption in corporate legal teams mirrors broader digital transformation trends across the enterprise. As AI tools become more capable of handling routine tasks—such as contract clause extraction, meeting‑note generation, and rapid document summarisation—legal departments can reallocate senior talent to higher‑value advisory work. This shift is especially pronounced in industries facing heavy regulatory burdens, where speed and accuracy in contract review translate directly into reduced compliance risk and faster deal cycles.

Yet the rapid uptake also surfaces governance challenges. While 87% of chief legal officers report using AI, comfort remains limited for high‑stakes activities like privilege review, investigations, and data‑breach response. Organizations are responding by formalising technology roadmaps—now present in 53% of departments—and expanding legal‑operations functions to embed best‑practice controls, data‑privacy safeguards, and audit trails. Structured training programs, championed by general counsel, are essential to bridge the skill gap and ensure that AI outputs meet professional standards without exposing firms to inadvertent liability.

Looking ahead, the emergence of the "TechnoLawyer" signals a new professional archetype that blends legal expertise with data‑science fluency. As CIOs identify digital ambassadors within legal teams, firms that invest early in AI‑centric talent pipelines and robust risk‑mitigation frameworks are likely to capture competitive advantage. The convergence of AI capability, strategic prioritisation, and dedicated operational support suggests that generative AI will become a core pillar of legal service delivery, reshaping cost structures and client expectations across the market.