Legal Sector Doubles Down On AI Use Despite Concerns

The number of legal professionals reporting they have used artificial intelligence has doubled since 2023, yet security and trustworthiness concerns are holding others back from adopting the technology, according to a report released Tuesday.

The findings were part of the "State of AI in Legal" report released by legal operating platform Litify, which commissioned an independent market research firm to understand the continued use and effects of AI in the legal field.

Nearly 400 legal professionals completed the survey between April and May 2024, Litify confirmed to Law360 Pulse.

The study showed that the industry's use of AI doubled from 23% of respondents saying that they had used the technology in 2023 to 47% this year. Over 90% of those using AI say it saves time on legal work, with 33% now saving six to 10 hours per week because of the technology. The top task for AI in legal work was drafting documents.

Even those professionals with no AI use believe in its potential, with 60% of professionals saying that workloads will be positively affected. Over half say AI will improve access to legal services.

Fears about AI hurting legal jobs softened. Only 28% of respondents said AI may negatively affect their employment prospects, down from 44% last year.

Positives aside, 43% say the industry isn't ready for AI.

Over 40% of those not using AI called out security, privacy and trustworthiness concerns as their main barriers to adoption. Another 38% were concerned about data exposure, misuse concerns, and ethical or regulatory issues.

While 69% value working for an organization that embraces the latest tech advancements, personal discomfort persists. Only 48% are personally comfortable using the technology, the same as last year's survey.

Professionals from law firms were two times more likely than their in-house peers to believe their leadership was uncomfortable with using AI.

More nonusers will likely adopt AI in the future, with 19% of the current nonusers saying they will start to use it next year.

Thirty-five percent of respondents were from full-service law firms while 21% were from plaintiff law firms. Thirty percent belonged to in-house legal departments.

Nearly half of the respondents were midlevel employees while 27% were senior partners.

Over 40% of respondents belonged to organizations with 25 or fewer employees.

Litify did not respond to a request to reveal the name of the independent market research firm.

--Editing by Jay Jackson Jr. Graphics by Jason Mallory.

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