According to one expert, 2026 is set to bring numerous changes – both in terms of how the business of law operates, and in how regulators will respond to such shifts.
Madeleine Porter (pictured), legal industry expert in Asia Pacific at iManage, has offered four predictions for the coming year, starting with the suggestion that return on investment will be a focus for business leaders leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in 2026.
“For Australian professional service businesses, 2025 was all about exploration and experimentation with AI. Many organisations have spent the last 12 months running pilots, trialling, and evaluating AI software internally, and for many, that testing process has come to a natural end,” she said.
“Businesses are facing both internal and external pressure to validate and demonstrate the AI's return on investment (ROI).”
Secondly, Porter said, AI adoption and innovation will continue to drive business growth.
“Businesses that are quick to adopt new technologies, such as AI, are often viewed as innovative, while those that don’t adopt will quickly be perceived as lagging. This perception has the potential to negatively impact your business reputation, which, in turn, could ultimately affect your bottom line,” she warned.
“As a result, there is growing pressure on businesses to leverage AI to maintain a positive public perception and gain a competitive advantage.”
Porter’s comments follow her recent appearance on LawTech Talks, alongside iManage’s global product director for knowledge and AI, Alex Smith, in which the pair discussed why knowledge management is such an urgent priority for legal teams, how cognisant lawyers are of this urgency, lessons learnt from this past year, whether certain practices and processes remain fit for purpose in the current climate, and whether it’s becoming harder for legal teams to avoid drowning in knowledge.
It also follows Porter’s conversation with Lawyers Weekly in September, in which she stressed that AI is no longer a futuristic concept for law firms. Instead, she explained, this technology is fundamentally reshaping the role of lawyers and redefining their day-to-day responsibilities across Australia.
Elsewhere, Porter predicted that regulatory changes will continue to impact how businesses and professionals operate.
“Regulatory changes and court-issued guidance on AI use will require companies to stay on top of the rules to ensure compliance and prevent reputational damage,” she said.
And, finally, Porter believes that there will be a rise in professional sanctions for legal practitioners.
“In 2025, several professionals’ sanctions were issued against legal practitioners for unsatisfactory professional conduct or misconduct related to technology usage,” she said.
“As AI usage becomes more prevalent, we can expect to see more professional repercussions being imposed against individuals.”
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of professional services (including Lawyers Weekly, HR Leader, Accountants Daily, and Accounting Times). He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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