LEAP Legal Software has released the Profitability in Law: Global Report 2026, showcasing the voices of over 700 legal professionals across the globe regarding profitability perceptions, priorities, and practices.
The utilisation of artificial intelligence (AI) has penetrated the tech stack of legal firms across the globe, with the vast majority citing that this technology has resulted in significant time savings. To increase profitability, firms believe AI ought to be used for document review and analysis, but there exists a gap between intention and practice.
Key stats you need to know
- Over 7 in 10 firms believe that a moderate to significant amount of time is saved due to utilising AI in legal processes.
- Legal firms believe AI can increase profitability in three key use-cases: document review and analysis (42%), drafting and document Generation (36%), and legal research and case law analysis (36%)
- Actual use lags behind intent across the same areas: document review and analysis at 31%, drafting and document generation at 29%, and legal research and case law analysis at 26%.
71% of firms report a significant to moderate amount of time is saved due to AI
- Over 56% firms report that a moderate amount of time is saved from AI usage, while another 15% report they save a significant amount of time.
- The majority of firms in all three key regions report that AI usage saves them a moderate amount of time.
- A minority of firms (12%) do not use AI at all in their practice.
Of the firms that are currently utilising AI, over 7 in 10 cite that the technology saves them either a significant (15%) or moderate (56%) amount of time. This time saved allows practitioners to focus on more valuable legal work, rather than tending to menial administrative duties.
Across the three regions, the UK/IE firms believe in this sentiment the most, as 79% report that a significant or moderate amount of time has been saved thanks to AI. By contrast, the AU/NZ region has the most firms reporting that only a minimal amount of time has been saved (25%), and has the largest number of firms not utilising AI at all (19%).
Over 2 in 5 firms believe using AI for document review and analysis increases profitability, yet less than 1 in 3 firms practice this
- 42% of firms believe that AI can best increase profitability through document review and analysis.
- In reality, however, only 31% of firms are actually deploying AI for document review and analysis.
- The US/CA (35%) and UK/IE (43%) cite document review and analysis as a top deployment method for AI. However, only 32% are actually doing so.
The numbers indicate a gap between intention and practice, as only 31% of firms are actually utilising AI for the supposed best deployment method, which is document review and analysis (42%). This might indicate that AI capability for this use case is yet to meet user expectations. Looking at the regional breakdown, the numbers are even more stark. For instance, the AU/NZ is the top believer in utilising AI for document review (48%), but is the lowest in actually implementing it (29%). Instead, both the UK/IE and US/CA regions are the more seasoned users of AI in this area.
Drafting and document generation, legal research and case law analysis round the top-3 AI use cases
- 36% of firms believe that AI for drafting and document generation can increase profitability, and another 36% say the same for legal research and case law analysis.
- The top-3 use cases for AI that firms believe help their profitability tackle complex and time-consuming tasks.
The top 3 AI use cases that firms believe can benefit their profitability all involve complex document work that spans drafting, reviewing, analysing and researching. The same use cases are also the top-3 most widely adopted AI applications. It becomes clear that where AI can assist in more involved, and time-consuming work, legal professionals recognise their value. Down the list however, nuances arise for assistance in tedious, but straightforward tasks. For example, data extraction is widely adopted (17%), but the belief in its value for profitability is much less (8%).
About the research
LEAP Legal Software’s Profitability in Law: Global Report 2026 is based on quantitative research conducted by Agile Market Intelligence, reflecting the sentiments of 700 legal professionals across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, and Canada, and collected between 10 and 28 November 2025. The report outlines how strategy, people, technology and AI drive profitability in legal practice, with data-driven recommendations on how to close the gap between profitability potential and execution.
You can download the report here.
