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In-house lawyers want to innovate, but need business buy-in
New research suggests that corporate counsel place a high value on innovation, with many indicating they would change employers if a role with greater scope to innovate arose. The extent to which businesses will let their in-house lawyers invest in innovation, a new report implies, could be critical.
Jerome Doraisamy
Thomson Reuters has released its annual Tech, AI and the Law report, which this year surveyed 869 legal professionals (private practice and in-house) about their attitudes and perceptions towards legal technology and innovation between 1 July and 30 August.
As reported last week, one in three private practice professionals (32 per cent) believe that their firms should adopt GenAI legal assistants, with those in firms overwhelmingly anticipating increased investments in new and emerging technologies in the coming year. And, as reported earlier today (Tuesday, 29 October), 52 per cent of in-house professionals surveyed said they believe that the billable hour model hampers innovation and/or adoption of AI, which may precipitate further movement towards value-based pricing.
The report’s section covering in-house counsel identified that, of those surveyed, two in five (38 per cent) of corporate counsel would be prepared to leave their current employers for another if that business had a more innovative legal team.
One in three (33 per cent) said they would not do so, while three in 10 (29 per cent) were undecided on the question.
Those in-house, Thomson Reuters said, “place a high value on working for an innovative department”.
The advent and mainstreaming of Generative AI is, of course, one prominent way through which law departments can and will continue to innovate as 2025 approaches. With this in mind, there are various factors that respondents pointed to that may be impeding the legal team’s ability to innovate and, thus, spawning thoughts about finding a more innovative workplace.
One in two (52 per cent) of in-house lawyers said that investment issues – i.e. costs associated with training and implementation of AI – have negatively impacted the speed, ability, and confidence with which their law departments could adopt AI tools.
An inability to provide ROI to secure budget was also a prominent hurdle, with 38 per cent pointing to this, while information security concerns and the cost of compliance checks were flagged by 37 per cent of respondents, respectively.
Speaking about the findings, Thomson Reuters director of legal transformation, Tyrilly Csillag (pictured), said that GenAI is advancing at such a rapid pace that businesses that sit on the sidelines risk being left behind.
With this in mind, she said: “It may seem surprising that only 46 per cent of Australian in-house legal departments are already experimenting with GenAI. But the report reveals AI appetite is not an issue for in-house counsel, in fact 38 per cent would leave their current department for one they deemed more innovative.”
The real barrier to AI adoption for in-house counsel, Csillag said, is the cost commitment.
“With a perceived inability to prove the ROI to decision-makers, professionals are seeking clarity on short-term proven use cases and longer-term benefits,” she said.
“As legal departments set their budgets and strategies for the year ahead, it’s clear that those who continue to invest in technology and integrate AI capabilities into their daily operations will emerge as leaders.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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