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As the role of the general counsel undergoes a fundamental transformation, a new Plexus report has revealed, the skills and capabilities required to become a future-ready legal leader are being fundamentally reshaped.
As general counsel (GCs) evolve from traditional legal gatekeepers into strategic business partners, they are increasingly expected to be as commercially minded and technologically savvy as they are legally astute, driving an unprecedented transformation of the role.
This transformation is not only changing what GCs do, but also redefining the skills, behaviours, and capabilities required to lead a future-ready legal function.
New research from legal technology provider Plexus has revealed a fundamental shift in what it takes to succeed as a general counsel, with five core competencies emerging as critical capabilities for the next generation of legal leaders.
The Future-Ready General Counsel 2026 report gathered insights from 150 general counsel across Australia, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Rather than legal expertise alone being viewed as the defining capability of tomorrow’s leading GCs, respondents identified five critical competencies spanning technology, commercial strategy, and leadership needed to navigate the increasingly complex demands of the role.
The five core competencies shaping the future-ready GCs are:
AI literacy and fluency (cited by 48 per cent)
Business acumen and strategic partnership (cited by 40 per cent)
Data and analytics capability (cited by 22 per cent)
Change leadership and adaptability (cited by 18 per cent)
Regulatory and ethical awareness (cited by 12 per cent)
According to the report, this marks the “first time” AI literacy has moved above legal expertise on the list of skills required for future legal leaders, with nearly half (48 per cent) of respondents identifying it as a critical capability for future GCs.
Under this competency, respondents highlighted the ability to understand model limitations, data requirements, and when to deploy AI versus traditional methods as essential skills for the legal leaders of tomorrow.
However, the research suggests the future GCs will need far more than technological capability alone.
Ranking a close second behind AI literacy, business acumen and strategic partnership emerged as a defining capability for future GCs, with 40 per cent of respondents saying tomorrow’s legal leaders must move beyond the traditional role of legal adviser and become proactive business partners.
Respondents highlighted that future-ready GCs will need to operate at the intersection of law and business, identifying risks, uncovering opportunities, and contributing to strategic decision making rather than simply serving as legal gatekeepers.
As the expectations placed on legal leaders continue to expand, Plexus founder and CEO Andrew Mellett said the profession must move beyond simply adapting to change and instead take an active role in shaping its future.
“The legal function that waits to see what AI does to the profession will spend the next decade catching up to the one that decides what the profession does with AI,” Mellett said.
“The data is unambiguous. Workload is up. Headcount is flat. AI is generating more work for legal before it generates time savings.”
He added: “The path forward is not to work harder inside a broken model. It is to redesign the function, automate the commodity, architect the operating model, and own the AI governance agenda. That is what separates a general counsel from a chief legal officer.”
