According to a report recently released by Everlaw and Wakefield Research, corporate law departments are increasingly adopting generative artificial intelligence (genAI), with corresponding consequences in terms of outsourcing needs and cost savings.
For the In-House Innovation Report, Everlaw and Wakefield Research considered the findings of a survey of 300 US in-house legal professionals.
According to the survey results, 86 percent adopted genAI for legal work, up from 52 percent in 2025 and 23 percent in 2024. Within this year’s segment:
- 37 percent utilized genAI extensively
- 49 percent used genAI for some legal tasks
- Nine percent were experimenting with genAI or doing a proof of concept
- Five percent were preparing to use such tools within the coming year
- Zero percent said they had no plans of using or testing genAI in the next year
Outsourcing trends
Among the surveyed members of in-house legal teams that engaged law firms:
- 54 percent reported reduced outsourcing to outside counsel because of genAI and agentic AI, with 28 percent of that figure confirming that they had already started sending out less work
- 44 percent predicted they would begin relying less on law firms in the next year
- Two percent had not decreased outsourcing and did not expect to do so within 12 months
Transparency about AI use
The survey also asked in-house legal teams about their expectations regarding external counsel that utilized genAI or agentic AI.
Poll participants said they expected the law firms they retained to:
- Clearly indicate AI use (62 percent)
- Demonstrate measurable improvements in efficiency or results (61 percent)
- Reduce fees or billed hours (60 percent)
- Increase pricing transparency (53 percent)
- Speed up turnarounds (48 percent)
- Provide alternative fee arrangements (38 percent)
- Offer more strategic guidance (28 percent)
Impact on billable hours
When asked about when they expected most legal work to be based on outcome rather than billed by hours, survey respondents answered:
- within 12 months (17 percent)
- within three years (30 percent)
- within five years (34 percent)
- within 10 years (17 percent)
- in over 10 years (one percent)
Meanwhile, zero percent of those polled answered that this would never happen.
More news regarding in-house lawyers
According to a previous survey of over 650 in-house legal professionals, more than half reported using genAI tools in their legal practice, while those refraining from using such tools raised concerns about their reliability.
“The In-house Legal AI Landscape: Adoption, Governance, and the Future of Legal Talent” – a report from the Association of Corporate Counsel– highlighted a widening gap between the adoption of AI technologies and their effective governance.
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