TLDR: A recent study by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) and Everlaw indicates that generative AI adoption among in-house legal professionals in the US has more than doubled in the past year, reaching 52%. This surge is driven by a reduction in organizational restrictions and a strong focus on efficiency gains, particularly in drafting and legal research, with many expecting significant cost savings and a shift in how legal services are procured from outside counsel.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) has seen a dramatic increase in adoption among in-house legal departments across the United States, with usage more than doubling over the last year. According to the third annual ‘GenAI Strategic Value for Corporate Law Departments’ report by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) and Everlaw, 52% of US in-house counsel are now actively using Gen AI tools, a significant jump from just 23% in 2024. Globally, 53% of legal professionals have integrated the technology into their workflows, with Europe leading at 61% adoption.
This rapid acceleration in Gen AI integration is largely attributed to organizations easing previous restrictions on the technology. The report highlights that only 9% of businesses currently impose policies against AI use, a sharp decline from 29% in the previous year. This shift signals a decisive move from passive planning to active implementation within the in-house legal community.
The primary driver for this adoption is the pursuit of efficiency. A staggering 92% of respondents identified efficiency gains as the biggest benefit of Gen AI. Specific areas seeing substantial improvements include drafting, cited by 73% of users, and legal research, noted by 53%. These efficiencies are expected to have a profound impact on legal operations.
Furthermore, almost two-thirds (64%) of in-house counsel believe that these gains will enable them to retain more work internally, thereby reducing reliance on external legal services and cutting costs. The majority of anticipated cost savings are expected from contract drafting efficiencies (82%), with 45% also foreseeing lower expenditures on litigation and 42% on mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
The growing use of Gen AI is also poised to reshape the relationship between in-house teams and their outside counsel. More than half of the respondents (61%) indicated they are ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to push for changes to the traditional billable hour model in the future, advocating for value-based billing models, which 43% see as a better alternative. However, a significant portion (59%) of in-house counsel remain unaware if their law firms are utilizing Gen AI on their legal matters, and 80% are not currently requiring or encouraging their firms to adopt the technology. Consequently, 59% have not yet observed noticeable savings from their outside counsel’s use of AI.
Veta T. Richardson, ACC president and CEO, commented on the findings, stating, “The speed of adoption of artificial intelligence within the workplace speaks volumes. In-house counsel are not only using AI to make their departments more efficient — they are reimagining how legal work is delivered, how costs are being managed, and how value is defined. This is a pivotal moment for our profession.” Gloria Lee, Everlaw Chief Legal Officer, added, “Generative AI — used responsibly and always with a human in the loop — will allow law firms to deliver services faster, smarter, and within clients’ ever-tighter budgets.”
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Optimism surrounding Gen AI’s impact is also on the rise, with 50% of respondents believing its influence will be significant, and 20% describing it as transformative, nearly doubling last year’s figure of 11%. Only a mere 2% of in-house legal professionals currently have no plans to use Gen AI, underscoring the widespread acceptance and integration of this technology within the legal sector.
