AI Pressures UK Legal Billing as 90% of Professionals Use It
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Oct 10
AI Pressures UK Legal Billing as 90% of Professionals Use It
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Oct 10
Summary
Nearly 90% of legal professionals in the U.K. and Ireland now use AI, and the technology is forcing firms to rethink the billable hour, according to Clio's 2026 legal insights report.
Among AI-using firms, almost 80% said they can handle more work without adding resources, while more than 70% said AI cuts costs by taking over administrative tasks once done by support staff.
About one in five firms with broad AI adoption already struggle to meet billable-hour targets, as tools from Harvey let firms including A&O Shearman and Slaughter and May complete document review and research in minutes rather than hours.
Deloitte found senior legal leaders expect hourly-billed work to fall to 44% from 72% over the next two to three years, though lawyers still need judgment to verify AI output and avoid hallucination-driven errors.
Junior training is also shifting as AI absorbs routine drafting and research, pushing firms to create new learning paths and roles in legal engineering, product and AI delivery.