Artificial intelligence adoption among legal departments almost doubled in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium’s “2025 State of the Industry Report.”
The study results revealed that 30 percent of legal teams are using AI, while 54 percent intend to adopt it within the next two years. Moreover, alternative legal service providers are broadening their offerings from eDiscovery to contract management and legal staffing solutions.
Many legal departments are in the “emerging to developing” maturity stage, weighing strategic priorities against restricted resources. Eighty-three percent of legal departments anticipate an uptick in demand, with 63 percent citing workload and resource bandwidth as the primary challenge.
CLOC President Jenn McCarron said in a statement, "It’s clear that orgs are going at different speeds, depending on their level of maturity.”
The CLOC said it was developing a digital app to help teams evaluate and assess maturity. It would also hold the “State of the Industry Report Webinar” on February 24 to delve into key takeaways from the report, practical applications, and strategies to leverage legal department data.
“From increased adoption of AI, to shifting strategies for cost control and outside counsel management, the latest benchmark data offers legal operations leaders with in-depth insights as they make decisions for 2025 and beyond,” said Lauren Chung, practice lead for Harbor’s strategy and transformation practice.
The “2025 State of the Industry Report” draws from the “2024 Harbor Law Department Survey in Collaboration with CLOC.” Data were obtained from 186 organizations in 14 countries and over 15 industries.
“Legal operations professionals are at the center of transformation in the legal industry. This report serves as a valuable resource for our members as they assess their legal functionality and plan for enhanced legal operations for the future,” CLOC executive director Oyango Snell said.