The new 𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑅𝑒𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝐹𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑠 2025 report highlights the accelerating impact of AI across the legal and other professional services sectors. As adoption reaches a critical tipping point, the report reveals a growing competitive divide between those embracing AI strategies and those falling behind. According to the report, organizations in the legal, risk, compliance, tax, accounting, and audit sectors that have a formal AI strategy are twice as likely (54%) to report revenue growth directly or indirectly driven by AI adoption.

At the current pace of AI adoption, legal professionals are projected to free up nearly 240 hours annually, an increase from 200 hours in 2024, unlocking an average value of $19,000 per professional each year. In the United States, this could translate to a combined annual impact of $32 billion for the legal, tax, and accounting sectors.

The key takeaway is clear: AI’s influence is no longer speculative. We are now measuring its tangible value. Law firms, in-house legal teams, and other professional services organizations that fail to develop and implement a comprehensive AI strategy without leveraging partners like Solvaire and other alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) will soon face increasingly difficult business decisions. This 32-page report is essential reading for those looking to stay ahead. https://lnkd.in/e7zdCkpA

Contract management company DocJuris recently released its 2025 AI and the Human Factor for In-House Legal Teams Survey, gathering insights from 350 in-house legal professionals on how AI shapes corporate legal workflows. Bottom line: while AI continues to gain acceptance and traction, it has not replaced the human dimensions of negotiation, strategy, and judgment. Among the AI shortcomings cited, 36% of respondents pointed to weak persuasion and relationship management skills, 28% noted difficulty grasping business and negotiation context, and 22% said AI struggles to identify hidden risks. Adoption is further limited by insufficient AI training, the challenge of crafting effective prompts, and using tools that are not purpose-built for legal professionals. According to the survey, risk assessment is another area where human judgment remains critical, with 63% of respondents noting that AI can miss key issues or flag irrelevant ones. While AI offers significant potential as a legal tool, human insight remains the foundation of practical legal work.

The full 12-page survey report is available for download: https://lnkd.in/eKEMa9S7.

Judges are seeing more AI-related errors in legal filings, as highlighted in a recent Above the Law article. Specifically, the article highlights the issue of false case citations in legal filings, stressing that the root of the problem is careless lawyering, not the generative AI tools themselves.

Judges are increasingly frustrated by error-filled submissions, often containing fictional case names and citations. While it is tempting to blame technology, particularly generative AI, the article argues that the responsibility for verifying accuracy lies with legal professionals, not the tools they use. One judge who has encountered this issue repeatedly emphasizes that due diligence and professional judgment are essential in legal practice, and that the solution lies in better lawyering, not better technology.

We have always maintained that technology like AI will not replace legal professionals but is best used to enhance their work. However, it takes two to tango.

Article Link: https://lnkd.in/emBVZehz

Last month, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) released its 𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑻𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑰𝒏-𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒘𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔, a comprehensive guide for legal departments navigating the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Part of ACC’s global initiative to support in-house legal teams, this practical resource offers guidance, insights, and frameworks to help organizations implement AI responsibly and remain compliant amid increasingly complex regulations.

The 64-page guide includes an “AI 101” primer, a reference list of ten trends shaping AI in 2025, and most notably, nine expertly curated checklists to support legal teams on their AI journey. These cover governance strategies, an AI maturity roadmap, real-world in-house use cases, guidance for evaluating GenAI tools, and tips for assessing third-party AI products and services.

Download the free resource here: https://lnkd.in/ef8AVDgg

The recent 2025 EY LAW General Counsel study surveyed 1,000 General Counsel and Chief Legal Officers from organizations across 21 countries to gain insights into how they are innovating and keeping pace with changing demands and global pressures. Perhaps surprisingly, less than one-third of the surveyed in-house legal departments are implementing Gen AI in their legal work for specific use cases. The report also notes that while 56% are still experimenting with Gen AI, obstacles such as costs (budget reductions), determining use cases, data transparency and organization, play a significant role in limited AI implementations. The AI issue points to a larger problem for in-house legal teams: inadequate planning. While 75% of legal departments conduct some degree of annual planning, most do not undertake deeper assessments that can help them prioritize their critical challenges. Also, less than half have documented their operating strategy and goals, while just 20% have established a continuous feedback cycle for ongoing operating model improvements.

The 16-page complementary study also offers valuable insights into in-house spending trends, talent acquisition and retention strategies, and the most effective initiatives for addressing regulatory change and compliance challenges. 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤: https://lnkd.in/eWr5JkVi

A recent KMWorld article on how change management can address and help remove organizational silos got our attention. According to the author, siloed departments often lead to inconsistent messaging, service delivery, and customer interactions. By promoting cross-departmental collaboration and alignment, organizations can ensure a seamless and consistent client experience. Of the 10 strategies listed to help companies dismantle silos and facilitate effective change management, the following rang truest:

𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Establish a digital knowledge base with tagging and search functionalities to make information easily accessible.

𝐔𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬: Provide employees with integrated technologies, such as KM platforms, shared dashboards, and project management tools, to streamline workflows and enhance information sharing.

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: Develop a standardized glossary for the organization to avoid jargon and acronyms. Implement training sessions to familiarize teams with this terminology.

𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤: https://lnkd.in/eB3XuZcc

Over 15 years ago, Richard Susskind’s bestseller 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘢𝘸𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴? challenged legal professionals to rethink the very nature of legal services and offered a bold vision for the future of the profession. The book raised uncomfortable questions and prompted much-needed reflection and reassessment across the legal industry.

In his latest work, Richard Susskind on 𝐴𝐼 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝐿𝑎𝑤𝑦𝑒𝑟𝑠: 𝐴 𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑜𝑓 ‘𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝐴𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝐴𝐼’, the renowned author and legal tech expert offers clear guidance on understanding AI’s growing impact on the legal profession.

As Attorney at Work recently noted, “the book does double duty as a confidence booster for lay people and a reality check for insiders who may be over- or under-reacting to recent generative AI breakthroughs.”

This 224-page, nine-chapter crash course on AI for the legal field explores AI’s past, present, and future, key technologies, process versus outcome distinctions, common misnomers, and critical issues like risk and ethics.

For legal professionals developing strategy in a generative AI era, this book is essential reading.

How To Think About AI: A Guide For The Perplexed: https://lnkd.in/epyYc-Ek

Book Review: https://lnkd.in/eAB3wxKJ

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Foundation recently released its 2025 State of Cybersecurity Report, spotlighting the growing role of Chief Legal Officers (CLOs) in leading cybersecurity risk management. Cybersecurity is no longer simply an IT or governance issue, with CLOs increasingly involved in cybersecurity teams, reflecting the legal implications of cybersecurity breaches.

Legal departments are increasingly staffing dedicated cybersecurity counsel, a clear sign of proactive risk management. Complementing this trend, most organizations now mandate employee cybersecurity training, with legal teams guiding policy development.

Legal departments are increasingly evaluating vendor cybersecurity practices as part of training and security awareness, acknowledging that third-party breaches can pose serious risks. Also, a notable increase in written cybersecurity incident response plans reflects the importance of structured response strategies.

The 57-page report includes valuable metrics and benchmarks, available as a complimentary download. Link Report: https://lnkd.in/eWEZZBZW

In-depth research on midsize law firms is rare, which makes Actionstep’s newly released 2025 𝑈𝑆 𝑀𝑖𝑑𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑤 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑚 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑅𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 a must-read.

According to Lawsites (Robert Ambrogi), 87% of midsize firm professionals believe investing in cutting-edge tech is critical to their firm’s future, with AI playing a growing role. While 30% already see high value in AI, that number is expected to jump to 54%.

The report also highlights a key challenge: the average professional uses 6.6 different tech tools to manage a single client matter. This fragmentation leads to inefficiencies and data issues that impact client service and firm productivity.

️▪73% say their current tech doesn’t align with how they work
️▪83% lack confidence that client or matter data is accurate when accessed
The 25-page report offers insight into how firms adapt—and where opportunities lie. It’s worth a closer look and download.

Report link: https://lnkd.in/eVCZyF3a