Happy Friday!

Thomson Reuters dropped its fourth annual Future of Professionals report this week, and the headline isn't that lawyers aren't using AI. They are: 74% use it several times a week, 44% multiple times a day. 

The problem is that 91% say their organization is falling short of what the technology could actually deliver.

The report calls it the "AI value gap," and warns the divide between AI adoption and the value organizations actually capture is widening.

The top reasons strategies fail are: tools not in place, people not trained, and a plan that was never translated into day-to-day priorities. 

My take? The gap isn't the model. It's the operating model. AI value shows up when someone owns how the work, the spend, and the team actually change, not when a tool gets switched on.

That's why, at Legal.io, we stay focused on the people: the legal professionals whose judgment AI is meant to amplify, not replace. Get the talent decisions right, and the technology finally pays off.

— Pieter Gunst

CEO & Co-Founder, Legal.io

📊 Data-Driven Legal

$232,000

The estimated replacement cost per professional, with nearly 1 in 4 saying they may leave within two years.

34%

Professionals using AI tools their organization hasn’t sanctioned, in ways it can’t see, a sign that adoption is outpacing governance.

1 in 2

Professionals fearing a negative impact on independent judgment development. Legal professionals expect the timeline to trusted judgment to extend by nearly two years.

📰 Industry Snapshot

Meet the Financial Times Law 50 shaping the future of legal

The individuals featured here have been selected for their influence on a legal sector in transition.

Legora to move into consumption-based billing

Alongside its new Agent Pro, Legora is shifting from per-seat licensing to charging for the work its agents deliver, a bet that legal AI economics will follow outcomes rather than headcount.

An AI law firm wins its first court case

Garfield AI handled the document-heavy pretrial work for roughly £400, helping a freelancer recover £7,000 at Wandsworth County Court in what may be the first trial won by a regulated AI law firm.

Cooley to launch online portal for handling routine startup legal work 

The top law firm wants startup founders to stop asking chatbots to do legal work and use Cooley GO Lab, powered by Legora, instead.

Perplexity AI makes its move into legal 

The AI search engine known for delivering sourced answers to user queries is making an explicit move into the legal market, rolling out legal-specific features within its agentic platform, Perplexity Computer.

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