Extract from Benjamin Joyner’s article “Legal Departments Are Implementing Gen AI to Save Money. Law Firms Are Using It to Stand Out.”
Legal departments face more pressure than law firms to use generative artificial intelligence-powered legal tools, and are more likely to adopt them in search of cost reductions, according to a report released last week.
E-discovery provider DISCO’s new white paper, “Legal AI: Driving the Future of the Profession,” includes findings from a survey of 112 legal professionals, conducted in late summer 2025 in collaboration with Ari Kaplan Advisors. Respondents were split evenly between law firms and in-house teams, and included paralegals, attorneys, managers, directors of e-discovery, directors in other areas and legal operations leaders.
The report also drew on 32 in-depth interviews with leaders split legally between law firms and corporate legal departments for further insight.
Under Pressure
While legal organizations of all types are adopting gen AI, pressure to do so appears to be greater in-house than among outside counsel. Forty-two percent of firm respondents said they did not feel pressure to adopt gen AI, compared to only 30% of in-house respondents.
