The Future of AI-Driven Legal Practice
What’s Inside
2025 Legal Tech Trends Shaping the Future of AI-Driven Legal Practice
Future-Ready AI skills take centre stage See more on pg. 6
AI Agents Your new secret weapon See more on pg. 11
Proof of AI The dealmaker of 2025 See more on pg. 14
DMS 2.0 The AI powerhouse See more on pg. 19
Ethics Matter AI’s next frontier See more on pg. 22
Reimagine Fees AI reshapes legal billing See more on pg. 26
The future of the legal profession demands that AI sits right inside the workflows, right in the places where people are already working. It’s not about bringing your content to AI; it’s about bringing AI to your content. What does it look like if you have to take your content to AI? Teams start to stand up multiple point solutions to solve each individual problem, and it’s not a scalable approach. It also creates governance issues and security risks.
AI is here to stay, so how do you ensure the best strategy for leveraging AI for your organisation?
A LETTER FROM OUR CEO ON
The NetDocuments annual trends report has become one of our favourite projects, as it allows us to take a close look at the challenges and successes professionals are experiencing across our industry. I think we can all agree that the way we work is changing rapidly and changing in ways that we never expected. Expectations are different. The pace is faster and managing the complexity of information is growing at a pace that we haven’t faced before. What’s exciting to me is that NetDocuments isn’t just keeping up with that change. We’re shaping it. And transforming document management so that it’s more intuitive, more integrated and more intelligent than ever before. Shaping the Future of AI-Driven Legal Practice
To help legal teams navigate the trends shaping the future of AI-driven legal practice, we’re sharing an in-depth look at six trends, why they matter and things you can do to prepare. I am extremely thankful to everyone who contributed to this report and I invite you to read on and discover what the future holds.
Sincerely,
Josh Baxter
It’s not about bringing your content to AI; it’s about bringing AI to your content
- Josh Baxter
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AI is at the forefront of technology and business strategy conversations. 2024 was the year AI moved from the margins into the mainstream in legal tech, with 79% of law firm professionals now incorporating AI tools into their daily work in some form. Corporate legal departments are even more proactive in adopting AI technologies to streamline operations and reduce reliance on external counsel. AI’s impact is vast and significant, from expanding law school programs to changing firm billing models. In 2025, in-house teams and law firms must take the driver’s seat when it comes to this technology and focus on the possibilities of a future where AI is embedded into most aspects of daily work. With so much advancement in the world of AI, what should legal professionals be aware of and prepare for throughout the next year? Based on research and input from hundreds of industry experts and professionals across legal, the 2025 Legal Tech Trends report by NetDocuments shares top trends shaping the future of AI-driven legal practice.
Introduction
Trends At A Glance
Recruitment Will Increasingly Focus on AI Abilities and Knowledge
Agent-to-Agent Experiences Will Be a Superpower for Early Adopters
AI Credentials Will Influence Partnerships and Contract Renewals
The DMS Will Become the Foundation for Strategic AI Initiatives in Legal
AI Ethics and Transparency Will Be a Top Priority
Law Firms Will Adopt More Alternative Billing Models
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LEGAL TECH TREND 1
Recruitment Will Increasingly Focus on AI Abilities and Knowledge The rise of AI is prompting businesses to rethink how they hire and manage talent and in some cases is leading to changes in organisational structures. Traditional positions are being redefined to incorporate tech-based competencies and creating new roles focussed on AI capabilities. Teams are becoming more agile and innovation-minded as organisations prioritise internal expertise and readiness for AI adoption. This shift includes creating many new AI-focussed roles, like AI Ethics Officers and Generative AI Specialists. Ed Sohn, Global Head of Insights and Innovation at Factor, while speaking at the 2024 Inspire conference, explained it this way: “The thing that people love to say is that lawyers with AI are going to replace lawyers without AI. It’s not that AI is going to replace a lawyer’s job, but I think when people say that [they mean] the future of legal practice is going to include AI, …be ready with a job description. You actually need to start writing the future role of the lawyer, the future competencies of the lawyer.”
Ed Sohn of Factor on AI’s Impact on Competencies in Legal
The thing that people love to say is that lawyers with AI are going to replace lawyers without AI. It’s not that AI is going to replace a lawyer’s job, but I think when people say that [they mean] the future of legal practice is going to include AI.
- Ed Sohn, Global Head Of Insights and Innovation at Factor
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LEGAL TECH TREND 1
Why Adapt Recruiting for AI Abilities and Knowledge AI is accelerating legal workflows, including document interaction, summarisations and contract review and analysis and more. It’s no surprise that the use of artificial intelligence by law firm professionals increased 315% from 2023 to 2024. It’s not just law firms that see the value of using AI: 67% of corporate counsel expect their law firms to use cutting-edge technology, including generative AI. The legal industry’s interest in AI reflects a broader trend of workforce transformation, whereas 75% of survey respondents expect to change their talent strategies within two years in response to advancements in GenAI. Law schools are responding to the demand for AI skills by integrating generative AI training for new junior lawyers.
to advancements in GenAI 75%
of survey respondents expect to change their talent strategies within two years in response
- Deloitte’s State of Generative AI in the Enterprise
Organisations that don’t adapt their roles and job architecture to the new norms of an AI-powered workforce could miss out on top talent. And with almost one-third of legal professionals considering leaving or having already left the industry due to mental health, burnout or stress, AI presents a unique opportunity to ease the burden of many time-intensive tasks and curb the mental drain currently being felt.
Focus on attracting candidates with AI capabilities: As AI becomes central to legal processes, you’ll need professionals with skills in technology. AI competency is also attractive because it enables new hires to ramp up quickly and begin adding value much faster as a result. Expand your hiring profiles and offer incentives to attract candidates who bring expertise in AI and machine learning. Establish innovation teams for exploration and testing: These teams are tasked with several responsibilities around innovation: identifying opportunities to use AI in different practice areas, addressing technical and ethical concerns and ensuring consistency. Many larger firms already have innovation teams in place whose responsibilities can be expanded to include AI innovation. Evolve traditional roles to include AI competencies: Integrating AI into existing roles ensures that legal professionals can adapt to AI-driven workflows without disrupting familiar legal functions. Invest in training programs to upskill your existing employees in AI as well as supporting skills like business process definition, analysis and optimisation. This approach will facilitate a smoother transition to AI adoption. Create policies around the use of AI to reduce risk: Risks must be addressed when using AI for legal work. Official policies should cover regulatory compliance, client consent and communication, vendor vetting, human oversight to ensure accuracy and relevance, etc. Establish change management and organisational readiness: Encouraging AI adoption requires a shift in organisational culture and mindset. Develop change management programs that include clear communication, training and support to help employees adapt to and benefit from AI tools. By preparing, enabling and encouraging team members to use AI, you can minimise resistance, boost morale and ensure smoother integration of AI into everyday operations. To position your recruiting to have a focus on AI, implement the following action items: How to Adapt Recruiting for AI Abilities and Knowledge Go to Form
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