Clio’s annual Legal Trends Report, introduced at #ClioCon in Nashville on Monday morning, placed a lawyer and law firm’s need to embrace technology and AI, front and center.
“The positive outcomes from technology adoption are motivating a portion of the legal industry to enthusiastically embrace innovation. Those who continue to lag behind, failing to meet evolving client expectations, risk being left in the wake of industry advancements. This divide could become more prominent as the legal industry starts to embrace generative AI across the sector.”
Generative AI has the potential to reimagine a wide array of tasks in a law firm, even in its earliest iterations. Most lawyers are at least aware of AI, and many see its potential.”
- 63% of legal professionals said that they were interested in learning more about AI, representing a greater proportion than the general population—which includes both clients and potential clients—of which only 54% showed interest
- 58% of legal professionals donʼt believe that AI is advanced enough to be considered reliable, and 39% say they donʼt trust it
- 68% of lawyers, compared to 54% of paralegals and 48% of administrative staff, want to learn more about AI
It’s not only the interest of lawyers in AI which is going to increase AI’s use in the legal profession, but the client’s seeing AI’s potential in the deliver of legal services.
Lawyers with a greater interest in AI may have an advantage over other lawyers, per the report, and opportunities to lead and innovate rather than having to catch up to evolving client expectations.