2026年总法律顾问晴雨表：从应对复杂到掌控全局

Introduction General counsels (GCs) and senior in-house legal professionals facea relentless tide of new regulations and technologies—includingthe rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) use and AI-centric It has created a fragmented compliance environment that consumes ever-more resources from teams already underpressure. To inform this latest General Counsel Barometer (CSC’s fourth such study), we commissioned independent researchamong GCs and senior legal professionals in Europe, the U.K., North America, and Asia Pacific. We asked about thehead- and tailwinds impacting them, from corporate expansion plans to technology upgrades, and about how they One of the primary areas we wanted to investigate in more detail this year was AI. We asked GCs how they’ve begunto use AI in their day-to-day operations—both the opportunities and the risks. Robert-Jan BertinaHead of CorporateServices, Europe, CSC Rogier BronkSenior CommercialDirector, Americas, Thijs van IngenGlobal MarketLeader, CSC Myrna ReijndersMarket Leader,Americas, CSC It’s important to remember that all changes come withopportunity. GCs are at the heart of the big developmentsthat are impacting businesses, which more than everneed strong and capable legal, risk, and compliance Ian McConnelChief Legal Officer, CSC Research summary— We surveyed350 GCs and senior legal professionalsin Europe, the U.K., NorthAmerica, and Asia Pacific in early Q1 2026 and found thatmerger and acquisition (M&A) The top three objectives for 2026in terms of managing global legaloperations are:The top three objectives for 2026in terms of managing global legaloperations are: Results showed: Almost half (47%)of respondents cited M&Aopportunities as a key driver for internationalexpansion in 2026. The same proportion also cited 1Upgrading levels of technology and automation2Consolidating legal service providers Meanwhile,43%said strategic partnerships willdrive cross-border M&A this year. Firms continue to expand—and there isstrong sentiment toward North America Over half of respondents (51%)said theircompany expanded their North Americanpresence in 2025, higher than last year’s figure However,44%said they were “not confident” inmeeting each jurisdiction’s data security protocols. 41%said they expanded their footprint inAsia Pacific. 37%said they were “not confident” in servicedelivery consistency across jurisdictions. European countries saw less activity, by andlarge.Just 26%expanded their presence in theU.K.—whereas31%said they had reduced their They see the top five benefits of AI as: 1Strengthening risk management and complianceoversight2Supporting global expansion through scalableAI-enabled processes3Accelerating contract review, negotiation, and duediligence4Enhancing accuracy and consistency in legal outputs5Improving access to data and legal insights AI is becoming mainstream for key legalprocesses, but concerns remain: 35%said they now use AI to automate entity datamaintenance, compliance tracking, and filings.26%are piloting AI tools for select entitymanagement processes.22%said integration challenges with legacysystems are holding back their use of AI;20% are concerned about inconsistent globalregulatory guidance. Corporate service providers are highly valued said they use more than one corporateservices outsourcing partner as a direct resultof needing to manage different compliance 85%said their corporate services provider hada positive impact on cost savings; 81% saidthere was a positive impact on process 17% three. Expansion, M&A, and growth:organizations remain focused on the future Growth and expansion remain keyfocuses for organizations, both economies have now caught up—plus there’s rapidurbanization pulling people into the cities,” saysThijsvan Ingen, global market leader, CSC.“There aregrowing volumes of buying power, a situation that is Our study again found that North America, with itslarge consumer base, continued to be the most popular As firms enter new jurisdictions or expand theirpresence in existing markets, the impact for GCs is oftensignificant. It means more regulatory and compliancedemands, more complexity, and more risks—particularly More than half (51%) of respondents said their companyexpanded their North American presence in 2025,compared to 46% in last year’s study. Four in 10 (41%)said they built their footprint in Asia Pacific (a rise onlast year’s figure of 28%) and 40% in South America(roughly equal to last year). In contrast, one-quarter(26%) said they had expanded their presence in the “Benelux has traditionally functioned as a Europeangateway for supply chain-heavy companies, but we’renow seeing a shift away from a single hub towardsmore regionalized models, driven by e-commerce, fasterdelivery expectations, and geopolitics,” observesMyrnaReijnders, market leader, Americas, CSC.“At thesame time, the U.K. remains a major financial center, “Any expansion is driven by consumer demand, andNort