One in every of my favourite pastimes in current months has been studying newly launched reviews on authorized professionals’ use of generative synthetic intelligence (AI). Because the writer of a type of reviews, the 2025 AffiniPay Legal Industry Report, I discover it significantly attention-grabbing to evaluation the analyses and insights supplied in different publications.
Recently, new reviews have been introduced almost each different week. Whereas which will appear extreme, this onslaught of authorized AI information is basically fairly useful. The expertise is advancing rapidly and is more and more pervasive, so each statistic offers much-needed visibility into overarching adoption traits throughout the career.
One current instance is the Ironclad 2025 State of AI Report, which was launched in early June. It’s based mostly on survey responses from 800 authorized practitioners equally break up between regulation corporations and company authorized groups.
Some of the notable information factors from the survey pertains to AI adoption, which is at 69% general. Nonetheless, there’s a 26-point hole between regulation corporations and in-house groups, with regulation agency adoption at 55% and in-house at 81%.
These AI adoption ranges are considerably larger than these from most different current reviews. Usually talking, most different sources point out that AI adoption within the authorized career is far decrease, with roughly one-third of respondents utilizing AI for work-related functions.
It’s unclear to me why the Ironclad percentages are a lot larger. Maybe it has to do with the phrasing of the survey query or the inhabitants that was surveyed. The report signifies that an unbiased analysis agency with double opt-in performed the survey, however within the absence of additional data, it’s troublesome to hypothesize the explanation for this statistical disparity.
One other actually attention-grabbing discovering is that 25% of respondents reported being comfy with AI performing as an agent on their behalf. This statistic is stunning for the reason that idea of AI brokers is a comparatively new one.
Authorized professionals are usually risk-averse and are sometimes unwilling to be the primary to undertake experimental applied sciences. {That a} full quarter of these surveyed are “comfy” with this rising AI use case is each uncommon and promising. One cause may very well be that optimistic pandemic-era experiences with expertise, mixed with the plain time-saving advantages of AI, have led the career to be extra receptive to cutting-edge applied sciences.
Different survey findings help this speculation: authorized professionals are satisfied that AI is a game-changing instrument. The overwhelming majority — 93% — agree that AI has improved the way in which they work, and 96% say it has made reaching enterprise goals simpler.
One other 57% say it permits them to focus extra on strategic work, and 48% worth AI for managing routine duties, together with case regulation summarization (61%), doc evaluation for litigation (45%), high-level analysis (42%), drafting authorized paperwork (42%), and communication with stakeholders (37%). Of those that use it for communication functions, 64% agree that AI helps them talk higher.
Survey respondents additionally reported different advantages from utilizing AI, with 76% agreeing that AI helped lower emotions of burnout, and 46% p.c believing AI creates extra profession alternatives. Job alternative considerations dropping 8% 12 months over 12 months throughout all respondents.
Nonetheless, not all authorized professionals view AI’s affect on their livelihoods by way of rose-colored glasses. Simply over a 3rd (36%) of respondents imagine AI creates fewer alternatives for authorized professionals, with these in corporations (40%) extra more likely to be apprehensive than their in-house counterparts (33%).
Different hurdles cited relating to AI adoption included safety points (48%). Accuracy considerations are shut behind at 44%, up 4% from final 12 months. Different challenges talked about had been coaching deficiencies (24%) and points navigating AI insurance policies (23%).
One attention-grabbing query requested within the survey that I’ve not seen addressed elsewhere was whether or not AI must be regulated by the federal government. The overwhelming majority of respondents, 75%, assume it wants some sort of governmental oversight, whereas solely 9% imagine AI must be wholly unregulated.
Total, this report gives an attention-grabbing snapshot of authorized professionals’ views on generative AI. From surprisingly excessive adoption charges to an sudden consolation with agent-based use circumstances, these findings add meals for thought to the continued AI dialog.
For these carefully following this area or who’re merely taken with how our career is approaching AI implementation, this report is price reviewing and evaluating with others launched this 12 months to raised perceive the place we’ve been, what’s subsequent, and the place we’re headed after that.
Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York legal professional and Principal Authorized Perception Strategist at AffiniPay, father or mother firm of MyCase, LawPay, CASEpeer, and Docketwise. She’s been blogging since 2005, has written a weekly column for the Day by day Document since 2007, is the writer of Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York. She’s simply distracted by the potential of shiny and glossy tech devices, together with good meals and wine. You may observe her on Twitter at @nikiblack and he or she could be reached at [email protected].
