IN THE PROFESSION
from ethics guidelines or bar associations, but from legislatures and courts themselves. In the United States, the Biden administration’ s 2023 Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence signaled the federal government’ s willingness to step into the regulatory arena. At the state level, jurisdictions like California, New York, and Illinois are evaluating AI accountability bills that would impact law firm use of generative tools.
By 2026, many expect courts to impose affirmative duties of oversight on AI-generated filings, building on 2024 rulings sanctioning lawyers for submitting fabricated case citations from tools like ChatGPT or Google Bard. Legal departments and law firms will need documented“ AI governance policies,” defining who is responsible for vetting AI outputs and what safeguards are in place.
The Rise of No-Code and Low-Code Legal Ops Tools
Another trend gaining traction is the expansion of no-code platforms for legal teams. These tools allow legal professionals with no formal technical training to build automated workflows, conditional document generation systems, and internal client intake portals. Vendors like Ironclad, Checkbox, and Tonkean are fueling this movement, allowing legal teams to scale operations with fewer IT dependencies.
By 2026, expect to see corporate legal departments increasingly develop“ legal engineers”— professionals who sit between legal and tech to rapidly deploy solutions using low-code tools. This shift empowers legal departments to move from reactive support units to proactive operational partners, especially in industries with heavy compliance burdens( e. g., fintech, healthcare, logistics).
Increased Emphasis on Cross-Functional Collaboration
As legal tech becomes embedded across enterprise systems HR, finance, compliance, and procurementlegal teams will need to collaborate more deeply across departments. This will require greater fluency in data privacy, cybersecurity, and even product design.
In 2026, this will become table stakes: legal teams that can’ t engage in cross-functional“ design thinking” will fall behind their peers in influence and efficiency. Democratization of Legal Services Through Technology Legal services delivery is also becoming more clientcentered. Consumer-facing platforms( like Hello Divorce or DoNotPay) and self-service compliance tools for businesses are improving access and affordability. Large firms and in-house departments will be expected to mirror this client-centricity— offering transparent portals, progress trackers, and guided compliance workflows.
Expect to see major law firms launching client-facing digital portals that allow clients to intake legal requests, track real-time project status, and securely collaborate on documents— all powered by legal project management tools and dashboards.
Continued M & A Activity and Platform Consolidation
2025 saw heightened consolidation among legal tech vendors, as mature players sought to offer integrated ecosystems. Thomson Reuters, for example, acquired Casetext for $ 650 million, and Litera continues to snap up adjacent providers.
In 2026, expect the market to further consolidate, especially around contract lifecycle management( CLM), legal spend analytics, and generative AI document review tools. While this will make procurement easier for firms and in-house teams, it also risks vendor lock-in— making interoperability and data portability top procurement concerns.
Proactive Ethical Audits and DEI Accountability Tools
Finally, expect technology to become a core component of how firms and legal departments track and report on ethics, diversity, and inclusion efforts. Some law firms are already using analytics to monitor equitable matter distribution, promotion pipelines, and supplier diversity.
In 2026, these tools will be more standardized and externally reportable— especially as clients and investors demand greater ESG( Environmental, Social, Governance) transparency from their legal partners.
Legalweek 2025 already saw signs of this shift, with winners like Pfizer, BNY Mellon, and Microsoft showcasing how legal departments co-develop tools with compliance and IT partners to reduce risk and improve operational agility.
18 MAY / JUNE 2025