Extract from Ella Sherman’s article “Small to Midsize Law Firms Not Feeling the AI Adoption Squeeze”
As pressure mounts on businesses across industries to invest in generative artificial intelligence, many law firms are not feeling the same push to adopt the technology, according to legal management software provider 8am’s 2026 Legal Industry Report published Thursday.
The survey contains responses from 1,395 legal professionals including lawyers, paralegals and administrative staff from solo practitioners to big law firms.
When it comes to standing out among law firms, 39% of respondents said their law firm did not feel pressured by their competition to adopt gen AI tools.
“The midsize firms that are slower to adopt [gen AI], especially from what I have read across the industry, are also feeling less competitive pressure because other firms aren’t using it either in their space. Large firms are definitely feeling that pressure across the board,” said Nicole Black, 8am’s principal legal insight strategist.
