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The number of lawyers at small firms using generative AI for work purposes has tripled in a little over a year, a new ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû survey has found. AI users jumped from 13% in July 2023 to 41% in September 2024.

The percentage of lawyers at small law firms planning to use AI also jumped from 31% to 41% over the same time period.

82% of lawyers now use or plan to use AI for work

Also of note is the stark decrease in the number of lawyers with no plans to adopt AI, which dropped (from 69%) to 16%.

Dr. Katy Peters, Law Lecturer and Programme Lead for LLM in Professional Legal Practice from the University of Surrey, says AI can help lawyers to hone their practice.

"Think of AI as another tool which can complement your legal skills."

One law firm partner told us AI is the future of legal services. "Embrace it, but do not rely upon it," they warned.

The partner currently uses AI to interrogate data on lengthy documents. "AI can consider every document on an electronic file and compile information on any question you ask."

This assists me to ensure I am not missing out on a crucial bit of information, they said.

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The survey also revealed 50% of the legal industry have made at least one internal change to implement generative AI, according to the lawyers we surveyed. This reflects the growth of this rapidly evolving technology.

The most common change was offering an AI-powered product to staff, which rose from 6% in January 2024 to 41% by September 2024.

1/2 small firms have made a change to implement generative AI

Involving employees at an early stage is crucial to widespread adoption and understanding, according to Jodie Hill, the Managing Partner of employment law firm Thrive Law.

"We’ve asked our teams how they think AI fits in with, or helps with, their roles. We’ve got them involved at all different levels so it created engagement from an early stage."

This collaborative approach was true with most of the firms we spoke to, with training sessions, use-case or prompt engineering workshops, and open forums all now commonly practiced.

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The use cases for AI in the practice of the law are already immeasurable. Keeping pace with this change will mean more time, resources and training.

One associate told us generative AI is significantly enhancing their legal work.

"It quickly generates drafts, summarises complex documents, and provides insights on legal research, allowing me to focus more on strategic tasks."

For those not using it, he advises exploring its capabilities to streamline repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.

"It can save time and offer valuable support in decision-making."

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When generative AI first came on the scene, there were widespread concerns around the ethics, risks and responsibilities of it all. Almost two years later and we're now seeing lawyers, the most risk-averse of professional service providers, jump at the chance to use it.

What was it that won them over? We look at the biggest opportunities and the scariest risks.

The top benefit of using AI is delivering work faster, the ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû survey found – a trend that is prompting many to question the suitability of existing pricing methods.

A staggering 73% of lawyers at small firms cited delivering work faster as a key benefit of AI, followed by an improved client service (52%) and a competitive advantage (52%).

73% of lawyers said delivering work faster is the top benefit of AI

This unlocks new data-driven services that deliver a greater value to clients, he highlights.

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The majority (71%) of in-house teams expect their external counsel to use generative AI, but this shift towards AI-driven efficiency is expected to bring changes to pricing structures.

Checklist for law firms: Price and service transparency

The survey also found 39% of lawyers at small firms now expect to adjust their billing practices due to AI, up from only 15% in January 2024.

Firms expecting to adjust billing because of AI has more than doubled throughout 2024

However, only 16% of those at small firms think AI will end the billable hour model, while 34% believe it will remain in place and 50% are uncertain about its impact. 

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ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû' Director of Strategic Markets, Mark Smith, says properly trained and grounded generative AI can ultimately underpin certain legal tasks being undertaken faster and at higher quality than that done by a human alone.

"The impact of this on price will depend on many different factors – the importance and number of those tasks in the overall workflow, the pricing mechanism at play, the commercial relationship between the client and law firm, and the overall level of competition in that segment of the market."

The focus will soon shift from hours worked to value delivered, says one law firm partner.

"AI will push the legal industry towards value-based billing models as routine tasks become automated, reducing the time needed to complete them."

One associate told us that AI will provide the legal sector with an unrivalled opportunity to demonstrate why their services are valuable.

"This will make the market more competitive, as firms will need to demonstrate what they offer that other firms don't, and what AI can't."

Read practice notes on: Gaining a competitive advantage through pricing strategies and methods

Reviewing your pricing and billing models is not something that should be done at the drop of a hat. However, this shift towards greater flexibility around pricing is part of a larger ongoing trend, as firms seek to offer a wider range of services to clients beyond pure legal advice and representation.

Generative AI tools can research, analyse and draft content in seconds, making adoption a no-brainer for those in the legal profession.

But, as most in the legal profession already know, when AI lacks the information it is looking for, the technology can fabricate results (known as hallucinations).

The risks for lawyers relying on incorrect information are enormous. Just ask the US legal team who cited fake cases in court.

Fears of making a similar mistake have cemented themselves in the minds of many lawyers.

Despite increasing adoption rates, three-quarters (73%) of UK legal professionals are concerned about inaccurate or fabricated information from public-access generative AI platforms.

Relying on fabricated information (hallucinations) is the biggest concern to lawyers using AI

Can the use of generative AI lead to trade mark infringement?

AI can help speed up research and drafting, but the human lawyer is equally responsible for the output, says Peters from the University of Surrey.

"Whilst it may no longer be necessary to spend hours in a library or searching an online database, it will still be necessary to create appropriate prompts, review responses, adapt templates and challenge discrepancies."

I want to learn about AI and the need for explainability

We asked respondents how confident they would be using a generative AI tool that was grounded on legal content sources, with hallucination-free, linked citations to the verifiable authority used to generate the response.

Nearly three-quarters (70%) said they would feel more confident using a generative AI tool grounded in legal content sources with linked citations to verifiable authorities, up from 61% in January 2024. 

70% of lawyers feel more confident using AI grounded in legal content sources

Interestingly, as adoption rates and usage continues to climb, over-reliance is a growing concern. Over-reliance on AI is playing on the minds of half (50%) of lawyers.

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Unsurprisingly, leaking confidential information (39%) and accidental bias (33%) were also valid concerns.

The expectation from in-house counsel that law firms inform them when they're using generative AI is high, at 77%. In contrast, the survey found only 59% of firms believe their clients would want to know.

ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû has now launched , which searches, summarises, and drafts using ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû content.

Grounded in ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû' enormous repository of accurate and exclusive legal content, Lexis+ AI combines the power of generative AI with proprietary ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû search technology and authoritative content. Results are always backed by a verifiable, citable authority or source.

This tool was built with the in mind, says ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû' Senior Director of Segments, Stuart Greenhill.

"Everything we do considers the real-world impact of the solution. Lexis+ AI proactively prevents the creation or reinforcement of bias, we ensure that we can always explain how and why our systems work in the way they do, human oversight is built in and we respect and champion privacy and data governance in all that we do."