Extract from Trudy Knockless’s article “First-of-Kind Study Reveals How AI Is Altering In-House Hiring”
As AI begins to reshape legal work, many legal departments are rewriting their hiring playbooks to bring in tech-savvy lawyers.
Major, Lindsey & Africa’s newly released 2025 General Counsel AI Hiring Survey found that 39% of legal departments already have adjusted their hiring criteria because of AI, and more than one in five now require candidates to have AI experience.
This was MLA’s first-ever survey examining how AI adoption is affecting legal hiring. The respondents—152 legal department leaders in 17 countries—said their reappraisal of what skills candidates need to bring to the job stems from their first-hand experience testing and implementing AI tools.
Fifty-five percent of respondents said they’re either piloting or actively using AI tools, applying the technology to everything from contract review and legal research to matter management, as well as day-to-day productivity tasks like note-taking during internal meetings.
