More firms are actively promoting their use of artificial intelligence as the top echelons of the profession race to embrace new technology.
Research published today by Thomson Reuters shows that 78% of the top 40 law firms in the UK now advertise their use of AI – up from 60% last year.
The biggest firms are also stacking their teams with AI specialists: among the top 20, those with a head of AI have grown from 35% of firms to 45% in the last year.
More than three-quarters of the top 20 have their own in-house teams driving AI transformation – again up from 60% last year – but just 35% of the next tier of firms have created their own AI department.
However, only 24% of UK law firms have an AI adoption strategy in place, while 43% are adopting AI without a strategy.
Raghu Ramanathan, president of legal professionals at Thomson Reuters, said: ‘An increasing number of law firm customers recognise AI’s potential to enhance both productivity and client service. We expect that organisations will increasingly pick their panel law firms based on the firm’s strengths in delivering AI-powered legal services.
‘The UK’s very largest law firms are responding to this pressure to adopt and integrate AI tools – but the next tier of law firms appears to be adapting more slowly. This is creating a perceived gap in AI-expertise that slightly smaller firms will want to close.’
The research also found that 55% of the top 20 UK law firms now offer AI training for staff, up from 20% last year. This compares to just 10% of firms ranked 21-40.
‘Top law firms recognise that it’s not just a question of adopting this technology but also ensuring training programmes are in place to use it effectively and responsibly,’ added Ramanathan. ‘And while clients increasingly demand their law firms use GenAI tools to increase productivity, they still expect these firms to use top-shelf professional-grade AI.’
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