Is artificial intelligence the new outside counsel? A new survey by ACC and Everlaw suggests so.

The survey "of 475 in-house professionals across the US has found that 58% of them expect a ‘reduced reliance on outside providers for routine tasks’, because of the use of genAI," writes ArtificialLawyer.

The same question was posed by Forbes magazine earlier this year (specifically if AI will replace lawyers in general).

"AI will continue to be used to speed up contract drafting, analyze documents and assist with research, replacing manual and repetitive tasks,” Jared Bonilla, of Applied Insights AI, which advises major law firms about AI, said, adding that “the high quality judgment, intuition and decision-making process that comes with the well experienced senior level lawyers, will not be replaced for the foreseeable future.”

But IP attorney Josh Little wasn't ready to go all the way. "AI isn’t ready to replace the strategic advisory role that clients need and value," said Little. "The use of generative AI will improve the efficiency of legal professionals, but not replace them. We will adapt to evolving demands.”

Even ArtificialLawyer said it "spoke to two senior inhouse lawyers at major companies this week, and both said they did not expect to change the amount or type of work they sent out to law firms."

Verdict

As we've written here many times before, AI doesn't need to replace all of the industry in order to cause a monumental shift in the industry. The exact details and depth of AI's integration are still being sussed out, but what's is clear is that in-house departments, outside counsel, and ALSPs alike need to be learning the technology, experimenting with it, and creating their integration protocols now in order to stay relevant and ahead of the game.