2026 AI 在法律领域中的应用现状报告

STATEOF AI INLegalSTATEOFAI IN LEGAL When I traveled to conferences last year — New York, Charlotte, DC,Philadelphia — I kept meeting lawyers who either used AI every day, worriedabout hallucinations and confidentiality, or were being instructed byleadership to adopt it whether or not they were ready. What's striking now isthat the conversation has largely converged. A year ago, roughly threequarters of legal professionals were using AI for legal work. Now, nearlyeveryone is using it. I saw signals of this change throughout last year. At the ACC Annual Meeting,When I traveled to conferences last year - New York, Charlotte, DC,Philadelphia - I kept meeting lawyers who either used Al every day, worriedabout hallucinations and confidentiality, or were being instructed byleadership to adopt it whether or not they were ready. What's striking now isthat the conversation has largely converged. A year ago, roughly threequarters of legal professionals were using Al for legal work. Now, nearly Jasmine Singh General Counsel, IroncladJasmine SinghGeneral Counsel, Ironclad I hosted a panel where every in-house leader on stage described the sameshift — AI moved from "the intern" to a thought partner (and for many, thesparring partner they didn't know they needed). The work didn't shrink. It gotsharper, faster, more consequential.This evolution is the backdrop for something bigger that our third annualshift - Al moved from "the intern" to a thought partner (and for many, thesparring partner they didn't know they needed). The work didn't shrink. It gotsharper, faster, more consequential. I want to startsomewhere youmight not expect.Not a statistic about AI saving time or waxing idyllically about a tech futurewant to startsomewhere youmight not expect. State of AI in Legal report reveals. Legal has always been the function thatprotects the business. But increasingly, it's the function the rest of theorganization turns to for guidance on how to move forward with AI — not justhow to manage the risk of it, but how to actually use it well. Finance isasking. Sales is asking. The C-suite is asking. And legal, whether it planned toor not, has the answers. That's a different mandate than we've had before(and it comes with a different kind of responsibility). What comes next — governing it, scaling it, leading with it credibly — is theharder and more interesting work. That's what this report is about.protects the business. But increasingly, it's the function the rest of theorganization turns to for guidance on how to move forward with Al - not justhow to manage the risk of it, but how to actually use it well. Finance isasking. Sales is asking. The C-suite is asking. And legal, whether it planned toor not, has the answers. That's a different mandate than we've had before(and it comes with a different kind of responsibility).What comes next - governing it, scaling it, leading with it credibly - is the we're building towards. I want to be real about what lawyers have sharedabout what it actually looks like to figure something out in real time, underreal pressure, with real consequences if you get it wrong. Because that is the story of legal and AI.we're building towards. I want to be real about what lawyers have sharedabout what it actually looks like to figure something out in real time, underreal pressure, with real consequences if you get it wrong.Because that is the story of legal and Al. Table of contentsTable of contents Methodology 822 respondents, evenly split between in-house legal teams andMethodology 1 2 3 4 5 6The training wheels are offTall orders, taller stakesWho's watching the watchman?The AI sweet spotCharting the courseAbout Ironclad1The training wheels are off2Tall orders, taller stakes3Who's watching the watchman?4The Al sweet spot5Charting the course6About Ironclad law firms, fielded via Qualtrics in March 2026. 92% report usingAI for legal work in some capacity, and that group (n=752) is theprimary base for analysis throughout this report. Respondents span general counsel, CLOs, deputy GCs, legallaw firms, fielded via Qualtrics in March 2026. 92% report usingAl for legal work in some capacity, and that group (n=752) is theprimary base for analysis throughout this report. directors, senior counsel, legal operations professionals, contractmanagers, and paralegals. Where subgroup differences aremeaningful, we've called them out. Year-over-year comparisonsdraw on comparable Ironclad surveys fielded in 2024 and 2025,and percentages have been rounded for clarity.directors, senior counsel, legal operations professionals, contractmanagers, and paralegals. Where subgroup differences aremeaningful, we've called them out. Year-over-year comparisonsdraw on comparable Ironclad surveys fielded in 2024 and 2025,and percentages have been rounded for clarity. AI usage for legal work has grownto near-universal adoptionAl usage for legal work has grownto near-universal adoption Three years in, legalhas made up its mind