Source: Globe Newswire
FTI Consulting and global legal technology company Relativity today announced findings from part two of The General Counsel Report. The newly released study found that general counsel are placing more emphasis on developing technical acuity and embracing innovation than in previous years, and 75% expect to use generative artificial intelligence in the legal function in the near term.
This edition of the report, which is based on a detailed survey and one-on-one interviews between Ari Kaplan and chief legal officers at large corporations in every major region around the world, examined attitudes and technology implementation plans within corporate legal departments. When asked about their comfort level with generative AI across a range of legal use cases, most general counsel expressed a high degree of support — across all use cases discussed, participants rated their comfort level at a weighted average of 3.2 based on a scale of one (not comfortable) to five (extremely comfortable).
In addition to growing openness toward AI use, 77% of respondents said they have plans to make new technology investments this year, a more than 20-point increase over the previous year’s report. Among those who didn’t have budget earmarked to purchase new tools, some were looking for ways to optimise and enhance existing technology.
“Unsurprisingly, AI was a major topic of discussion in this year’s general counsel report, but more than the excitement around technology innovation was the sense that there has been a distinct shift in the legal department’s attitude toward technology,” said Sophie Ross, Global Chief Executive Officer of FTI Technology. “While lawyers will always maintain a healthy degree of caution, legal department leaders are more focused than ever before on trying new technologies, investing in tools, automating their work and embracing the technological changes that will make them more effective as strategic business partners. I believe this signals a meaningful year ahead in legal tech growth, as well as traction for practical innovations in AI.”
