Trends for AI in 2026

As we move into the new year, the legal profession is undergoing structural and operational shifts driven by AI adoption, integration, and regulatory dynamics. Preparing for these now will be essential to remain competitive and compliant. Here are some key trends in artificial intelligence to look for in 2026:

1. AI Is Becoming Core to Legal Workflows

AI is no longer peripheral in legal practice. It is rapidly moving into daily routines—handling tasks like research, document synthesis, and contract review—and is embedded into standard legal workflows.

What this means:

• Routine work such as summarizing documents, identifying key clauses, and initial drafting will likely increasingly be automated.
• Lawyers will be able to spend proportionately more time on strategic, judgment-based work rather than administrative tasks.

2. Specialized, Legal-Grade AI Tools Replace Generic Tools

Law firms and corporate legal departments are shifting from general-purpose AI (like basic ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc.) to legal-specific AI platforms (like Clio, Lexis, WestLaw, etc.) trained on legal text, with accurate legal citations and jurisdiction-specific knowledge.

Implication:

• Legal AI systems with built-in legal context, jurisdiction filters, and secure databases will become the industry standard.

3. Context-Aware, Strategic AI Insights

AI tools are evolving from simple search engines into context-aware systems that can:

• Suggest case strategies
• Compare outcomes with historical databases
• Highlight risks based on jurisprudential patterns

4. Advanced Document Review and Predictive Analytics

AI’s ability to identify key clauses, flag inconsistencies, and perform predictive analysis is improving dramatically:

• Predictive analytics will guide case law strategy and outcomes
• Document analysis will happen faster than manual review

5. Security, Ethics, and Responsible AI

As AI adoption rises, data security, privacy, and ethical use will become central concerns:

• Confidential information must be protected in AI workflows
• Lawyers must ensure AI outputs do not contain bias, misrepresentation, inaccurate citations, or sensitive client information
• Professional responsibility standards (such as ABA guidance) will continue to emphasize and require human oversight when using AI

6. AI and Potential Clients

Clients will increasingly evaluate law firms on their use of AI, both from an efficiency perspective and in delivering better price transparency and outcomes. This affects how firms compete, how they price work, and what clients may expect.

To remain effective and keep up with the increased prevalence of AI usage in 2026, lawyers should pursue the following strategies:

1. Gain AI Competency and Technical Fluency

Lawyers should develop:

• Understanding of how AI tools work (limitations, hallucination risks, data inputs)
• Skills in prompt engineering and tool selection
• Knowledge of legal-focused AI platforms

Action Steps:

• Participate in regular training programs on legal AI tools.
• Collaborate with IT/legal tech teams to evaluate and pilot new solutions.

2. Build Governance and Ethical AI Policies in Your Office

Create Authorized Usage Policies around AI use that addresses:

• Client confidentiality and data handling
• Requirements for human review of AI outputs
• Documentation and audit trails for AI decisions

3. Reconfigure Billing and Service Models

AI will reduce time on routine tasks. Law firms need to rethink pricing:

• Use AI efficiency gains to offer better pricing without compromising quality

Clients may begin challenging traditional billable hours as AI decreases task times. Keep this in mind when meeting with clients and discussing your fees.

4. Integrate AI Tools Securely with Existing Systems

Adoption must include:

• Secure data infrastructures to protect client and sensitive data
• Integration with document management and case management systems

5. Enhance Strategic Legal Functions

Use AI to shift focus on more than simple generative tasks:

• Use predictive analytics to brainstorm case strategy and help jump start tasks that you may be hung up on or need to find a starting point.

6. Customer AI Legal Services

Explore how AI can enhance client service:

• Look into AI-assisted legal assistants for faster client communication and deal with routine client issues and concerns.

Questions? Contact Jared Burke for more information.