Explore the 2024 Wolters Kluwer Lawyers Survey
4 mins read

Explore the 2024 Wolters Kluwer Lawyers Survey


On October 24, 2024, Wolters Kluwer, an information services company, published the Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyers Survey Report 2024. This annual report, now in its sixth year, examines hundreds of law firms in the United States and Europe.

In this blog post, we will explore the key findings from this report as well as our previous findings from the last Legal Trends Report reaffirming the pressing issues facing today’s lawyers and what the future of the legal profession holds.

Most lawyers leverage AI in their practice

There is no doubt: the legal profession has fully embraced AI. The last Legal Trends Report found that the vast majority of legal professionals leverage AI in their practice, and the Future Ready Lawyer Survey now reports similar findings. More precisely, the Legal Trends Report found that 79% of legal professionals use AI in some capacity in their firms, while 68% of law firms surveyed in the Future Ready Lawyer survey report said they use AI at least once per week.

These findings reaffirm the critical role that AI plays in the legal profession, as well as the speed with which legal professionals are adopting it. Notably, in just one year, AI adoption increased from 19% to 79% among lawyers surveyed in the Legal Trends Report.

Will AI adoption kill the billable hour?

Lawyers expect the rise of artificial intelligence to transform the traditional business model of law firms: namely the widespread use of the billable hour. 60% of lawyers surveyed in the Future Ready Lawyer Survey expect AI-driven efficiencies to impact the prevalence of billable hours.

These results reflect those of the last Legal Trends Reportwhich found that generative AI could have a significant impact on revenue for businesses that rely primarily on billable hours. Specifically, AI automation could reduce hourly billing per attorney by $27,000 per year, forcing AI-enabled firms to consider other payment options, such as flat fees.

However, according to the Future Ready Lawyer Survey, lawyers are not worried about meeting these challenges. More than half of those surveyed said they felt well prepared to adjust their business practices in response to the rise of AI technology.

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Lawyers invest in AI

Over the next three years, law firms are expected to invest heavily in AI technology. In the Future Ready Lawyer Survey, 58% of law firms indicated they plan to increase their investments in AI over the next three years.

Once again, these results are consistent with those discovered in the last Legal Trends Reportwhich found that even though firms spend only 2% of their total spending on software, that spending is growing at 21% annually, making software the fastest-growing law firm expense.

As such, the vast majority of law firms view AI – and software in general – as a critical investment, and they are investing in it to help increase efficiency and scalability.

Leveraging legal trends for a future-ready practice

The legal industry’s leading report, the Legal Trends Report, shows that AI is no longer an exception in the legal profession – and other industry reports are doubling down on this trend: AI has become an aspect essential to the practices of many law firms. Lawyers have clearly taken note and are investing – and planning to invest – in AI technology to further drive innovation in their practices.

However, the rapid adoption of AI in law firms could force firms to question existing processes and structures, from how they do their day-to-day work to how they bill for their services to their customers. Here we see a strong case for a transition to flat-rate billing models, especially for cases and tasks where automation can play a larger role. However, amid these challenges, lawyers are largely confident in their ability to navigate the future of law.

Understanding the prevailing trends in the legal profession and their impact on law firm operations can help demystify the challenges inherent in legal practice. The year of Clio Legal Trends Report uncovers insights from the industry’s largest data sets and, alongside other industry reports, shows law firms where their biggest opportunities lie.

Read the latest Legal Trends report today for more information.

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