A recent report from Thomson Reuters found that using AI could unlock $20 billion annually for the legal profession, saving professionals five hours per week and equating to an annual value of $19,000 per employee.
Thomson Reuters’ annual Future of Professionals study explores how AI is impacting professionals in the legal, risk, compliance, accounting, audit, tax, and trade industries.
The study surveyed 2,275 professionals across the U.S. and globally, including 1,363 in legal positions in firms, in-house, and government. The survey was conducted in February and March 2025.
To boost ROI, invest in a plan
Eighty percent of respondents expect the growth of AI and generative AI to have a transformative or high impact on their work over the next five years, with 30% saying that they believe their organization is embracing AI too slowly.
More than half of respondents said they are already seeing a return on investment (ROI) from AI, including increased efficiency and productivity, cost reductions, enhanced client experience, and improved employee work-life balance.
However, a strategic roadmap for the adoption and implementation of AI across organizational functions is crucial in realizing these benefits, the report says.
“Having a strategic plan for AI adoption and implementation is becoming the single most distinguishing factor in [organizations’] future success [with AI]. Further, this pursuit of ROI needs to be a collaborative effort among organizational leadership, professionals, and operational support staff,” the report notes.
Eighty-one percent of respondents whose organizations have a visible, established AI strategy said they are seeing an ROI compared to 23% of respondents who cited no firm-wide plans for AI adoption.
Barriers to adoption
Concerns related to AI have often centered on possible security issues, the potential to eliminate jobs, and unethical or fraudulent use.
However, survey respondents were most concerned that overdependence on technology could impede opportunities to develop professional skills.
Nearly a quarter of respondents (24%) cited professional development concerns as higher than those related to privacy, confidentiality, and transparency (15%), malicious use (14%), data security (13%), and job loss (9%).
Demonstrable accuracy (50%), available budget (45%), data security (42%), and ethical concerns (37%) were all raised as barriers to organizational investment in AI.
Generational expectations
Younger generations are adopting AI at higher rates than their older colleagues. The report found that almost twice as many Millennials are adopting AI as compared to Baby Boomers.
Moreover, Gen Z was two times as likely as Baby Boomers to report that they can identify digital literacy gaps among their colleagues, creating some frustration in the younger generation regarding efficiency.
Gen X, on the other hand, is more interested in engaging in technology than may have been expected. Members of this generation are participating in more AI trainings than their younger colleagues, according to the report.
To increase their knowledge of AI, respondents said they are reading articles and blogs (check out our AI-focused blogs), experimenting with AI tools, and attending in-person and virtual trainings (check out our generative AI sessions on YouTube).
To read the full report, click here.
Staying up to date on issues impacting the legal profession is vital to your success. Subscribe here to get the Commission’s weekly news delivered to your inbox.
Nearly Half of Lawyers Think AI Will be Mainstream in the Legal Profession With Three Years
3 Areas of ‘Friction’ Between Law Firms and Generative AI Developers