More Law Firms To Review Billing Methods As AI Use Soars

LONDON — Legal businesses increasingly expect to rethink their billing practices as more and more lawyers begin using generative artificial intelligence tools to speed up their work, an industry survey published Tuesday found.

Nearly 40% of the private practice lawyers in the U.K. and Ireland who responded to a recent LexisNexis Legal & Professional survey said they expect to adjust their billing practices because of efficiencies that AI delivers. That figure has more than doubled since the start of 2024, according to LexisNexis.

But 40% of lawyers said the billable hour model will remain in place and only 17% think it will be abandoned because of AI. Forty-two percent are uncertain about AI's impact on pricing structures, the study said.

"Reviewing your pricing and billing models is not something that should be done at the drop of a hat," the LexisNexis report said. "However, this shift towards greater flexibility around pricing is part of a larger ongoing trend, as firms seek to offer a wider range of services to clients beyond pure legal advice and representation."

Around four out of five — 82% — of the 803 lawyers and legal support workers surveyed currently use or plan to adopt generative AI tools for work purposes. That means the number of legal professionals using the technology has soared 43 percentage points since LexisNexis conducted a similar study in mid-2023.

Around seven out of 10 respondents — 71% — said in the latest survey that using generative AI technology will help speed up legal work. Just over half — 54% — said it will help them provide a better service to clients.

Elsewhere, the survey found that almost 60% of the legal industry have made at least one internal change to implement generative AI. More than a third — 36% — of the lawyers surveyed said their business has offered an AI-powered product to staff. Almost a quarter of lawyers said their legal organization has developed policies on the use of generative AI, while 18% of respondents said they had provided AI training to staff.

Large law firms were the most likely to have made a change to implement AI, with nearly 80% of respondents reporting that they had done so, followed by corporate in-house legal teams at 74%. Around a third of respondents from the bar have made an internal change to implement AI, the latest report from LexisNexis said.

The study also found that there are still significant concerns about AI, despite its growing use in the legal industry.

More than three-quarters, some 76%, of legal professionals are concerned about inaccurate or fabricated information from using publicly available generative AI platforms. Over-reliance on AI was a concern of half the lawyers, according to the survey.

Just over 70% said they would feel more confident using a generative AI tool that was grounded in legal content sources with linked citations to verifiable authorities.

A LexisNexis survey carried out in January also revealed concerns about AI use. Around two-thirds of respondents said at the time that they would be somewhat or completely confident using a generative AI tool if it was trained in reliable legal content sources and offered a high level of transparency.

LexisNexis surveyed 803 lawyers and legal support workers in the U.K. and Ireland from Aug. 13 to Sept. 3.

Law360 is owned by LexisNexis Legal & Professional, a RELX company.

--Editing by Janice Carter Brown.

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