Solicitors Journal: Law firms invest heavily in AI adoption

Law firms are set to spend an average of £2,000 per lawyer on AI this year despite facing major adoption challenges.

Legal industry investment in artificial intelligence is seeing a significant increase, with law firms planning to allocate considerable budgets to integrate this technology into their practices. Research by Passle, an AI-powered platform for thought leadership in professional services, reveals that UK law firms intend to invest an average of £775,000 each, equivalent to £1,848 per lawyer. Meanwhile, their counterparts in the US are budgeting about £853,000, or £2,336 per attorney. However, many firms are still grappling with the practicalities of making this investment work effectively for them. 

The study highlighted various barriers that hinder AI adoption within law firms. A staggering 55% of firms voiced concerns regarding data privacy, while 36% were worried about AI’s propensity to produce "hallucinatory outputs,” which refers to instances where AI generates inaccurate or misleading information. Additionally, internal obstacles emerged as significant challenges, such as IT restrictions (52%), difficulties in implementation (50%), limitations in supplier solutions (45%), and incompatible company policies (25%). 

Read more about what this means for law firms and how it’s sparked the development of Crosspitch AI, via Solicitors Journal.