Law Firms Adopt AI Tools at Unheard-Of Pace as Enthusiasm Grows

More than three years after the generative AI boom began changing workplaces, legal-specific tools powered by artificial intelligence are now as commonplace as other software that’s long been a mainstay of an attorney’s tool box.

All 40 law firms with at least 500 attorneys that detailed a breakdown of their tech usage to Bloomberg Law’s Leading Law Firms survey said they used legal-specific AI tools in 2025. The results reflect a slight increase from a year ago, cementing the use of AI-powered legal tools alongside established technologies and signaling an appetite by many lawyers not to get left behind.

Data are self-reported in the Leading Law Firms survey, which the firms then in turn can benchmark themselves on technology and innovation, talent, growth, and financial strength. Firms were able to select which questions they answered.

The strong use of AI is being driven by high attorney enthusiasm for the technology, firms said.

“I’ve been a CIO for more years than I care to admit, and I’ve never experienced this kind of pull for new technology,” Dan Surowiec, chief information officer at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, said in an email.

Read More: See which firms came out on top overall in Bloomberg Law’s Leading Law Firms.

AI-driven tech is raising numerous questions about law firm business models. For example, it’s putting pressure on the billable hour as clients look for time savers that match cost savings in an industry that measures value by the hour. AI is also ramping up speculation that firms will start hiring fewer associates as they rely more heavily on automation.

While those existential questions are still unanswered, law firms are figuring out the basics around AI that make sense for them. Some are building custom AI tools while others are relying more heavily on software built by legal tech companies.

And when buying from vendors, many firms are sticking to one-year contracts to keep their options open. New startups can quickly rocket to relevance, and big tech companies like Anthropic and Microsoft are showing a growing interest in making legal AI tools.

“When the headlines are so compelling on a week-to-week basis, the notion of a multi-year engagement is a little daunting,” said Katrina Dittmer, US senior director of legal innovation at Eversheds Sutherland, which reported high levels of technology use in the survey. “Do I want to make a commitment to this vendor, to this approach?”

AI Growth Anomaly

While firms reported using AI, self-reported adoption rates—or the percentage of attorneys who use the tools— lag behind the integration of more mature technologies like eBilling and matter management software.

BCLP is still early in its AI transformation process, Surowiec said, but the firm’s lawyers aren’t at fault. BCLP’s ability to vet tools and implement training and governance has been slowing down AI adoption—not the eagerness of the firm’s attorneys to take up the tools, he said.

“We’ve not had to work hard to push lawyers to use AI tools,” Surowiec said. “We introduced our partners to Generative AI tools at our last Partners Conference and there was an immediate recognition that these tools were incredibly powerful and will change legal services.”

High attorney interest in AI has elevated the need across law firms for AI use policies that manage the technology’s inherent risks, including hallucinations and the potential to leak sensitive client data.

On average, firms with more than 500 attorneys reported 78% of their attorneys had completed AI training. Five of the 31 large or very large firms that answered the training question said they had 100% completion rates by their attorneys.

Eversheds attorneys have been receptive about using AI-driven tools, Dittmer said.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and getting lawyers to adopt technology has, at times, felt like pushing a rock uphill,” Dittmer said. “AI has been the first time where the attorneys are reaching out when they are saying, ‘Can I be included in this pilot? Can I be part of this tool?’ Because they recognize that this is an opportunity that they don’t want to fall behind with.”

Clients are responsible for driving some of AI’s growth at Norton Rose Fulbright, global and US managing partner Jeff Cody said.

“We find that most of our clients expect lawyers to incorporate AI into their workflow,” Cody said. “Of course, we’re considerate of those in highly regulated sectors, handling extremely sensitive data, that have different tolerances for AI use.”

Eighty percent of Norton Rose’s attorneys have adopted legal-specific AI tools, the firm reported.

Disciplined Strategy

Lawyers can be almost too eager to use the tech. Amid all the enthusiasm, firms are figuring how to get the best use out of expensive tools without just throwing AI at everything.

“I’ve had lawyers come to me and say, ‘Are we doing anything with agents?’ and my first question is, ‘What problem are you trying to solve " said Alma Asay, chief innovation officer at Crowell & Moring.

Firms are putting in place policies and guardrails to encourage proper use of AI tools. Even the biggest firms aren’t immune to citing hallucinated legal content in court, as Sullivan & Cromwell learned the hard way. The firm apologized to a bankruptcy judge after it submitted error-ridden documents to the court.

Most—but not all—the firms that reported using AI legal tools said they had an AI use policy.

Firms should implement their own best practices for AI use, said Rich Taylor, chief information and innovation officer at WilmerHale.

“Firms don’t need to invest in a sprawling AI strategy, but rather a disciplined one that looks at these high value workflows and then look to see how they can embed that firm’s unique skillset,” Taylor said.