IDC has issued an InfoBrief commissioned by Relativity titled Generative AI in Legal 2024. Here are a few highlights from the report.

The study, which IDC conducted and Relativity commissioned, surveyed 300 respondents in North America, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand in July and October 2024. The study respondents were legal professionals working at law firms, corporations, and government agencies.

Here are four key findings, as discussed in the Executive Summary:

• AI use in the legal profession is growing substantially, with 50% of respondents reporting that their AI use has increased. Across the board, AI usage has increased by an average of 43%, with paralegals using AI more than lawyers. AI is here, and organizations will need to adapt to survive.
• The largest organizations are seeing the biggest increase in GenAI usage. GenAI use increased by almost 50% in organizations with over 1,000 employees.
• Government respondents (51%) were the biggest users of software vendors’ AI tools, followed by corporate (40%) and law firms (38%). Law firm respondents were the biggest users of service providers (50%), while corporate (50%) had the highest percentage use of in-house proprietary models. Public model-based tools were the least popular with legal professionals, with 26% of government respondents, 23% of law firms, and 21% of corporate using these.
• A high percentage (73%) of organizations are taking specific steps to develop technical proficiencies with GenAI, with 67% providing on-the-job training to help employees develop technical skills. Consultants/external service providers are the second most popular method for developing skills.

While the growth in AI and genAI adoption is not surprising, some of the numbers (like over half of government respondents using vendors’ AI tools) were. They demonstrate just how widespread the consideration and adoption of AI and genAI is these days.

The 35-page Generative AI in Legal 2024 report is chock-full of graphics and additional stats and is available for download here. Additionally, Relativity will host a webinar next Wednesday, November 20th at 11am ET covering the study results and highlighting perspectives from Fiona Campbell, Director of Dispute Resolution and Head of Electronic Disclosure at Fieldfisher, David Horrigan, Discovery Counsel and Legal Education Director at Relativity, Celia Perez, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at FreightCar America, and Ryan O’Leary, Research Director for Privacy and Legal Technology at IDC. You can register for that here.

So, what do you think? Where does your organization stand with AI adoption? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

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