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While 71 per cent of law firms say artificial intelligence is already delivering meaningful time savings in day-to-day operations, a new report reveals that many are still failing to use the technology in the areas where it could have the biggest impact.
AI is rapidly reshaping the legal profession, with most law firms already reporting meaningful time savings in their day-to-day operations. Yet, despite the hype, a new report suggests the reality on the ground tells a markedly different story.
LEAP Legal Software has released its Profitability in Law: Global Report 2026, surveying more than 700 legal professionals worldwide on their views on profitability, efficiency, and the expanding role of technology in legal practice.
The report found that 71 per cent of firms say AI is already helping them save either a moderate or significant amount of time, with 56 per cent describing the savings as moderate and 15 per cent reporting a significant reduction in time spent on tasks.
Only a small minority – around 17 per cent – shared that they believe AI has delivered only minimal time savings within their practice.
In addition, just 12 per cent of firms surveyed reported that they are not currently using AI in any form across their operations.
Regional differences, however, reveal a highly uneven picture of AI adoption and impact.
Firms in the United Kingdom and Ireland appear to be leading the way in embracing the technology, with nearly 79 per cent reporting moderate to significant time savings driven by AI.
By contrast, firms in Australia and New Zealand are notably more cautious in their assessment, with one in four respondents (25 per cent) saying AI currently delivers only minimal time benefits.
Australia and New Zealand also recorded the highest proportion of firms not using AI at all, with 19 per cent indicating they have yet to adopt the technology – compared with just 8 per cent in the US and Canada, and 9 per cent in the UK and Ireland.
Despite clear regional differences, optimism around AI’s long-term ability to boost profitability remains strong across all markets surveyed.
The three standout areas the report pinpoints where firms see the greatest financial upside are document review and analysis, drafting and document generation, and legal research and case law analysis.
Document review and analysis emerged as the leading opportunity, with 42 per cent of respondents revealing that this is where AI could most significantly enhance profitability.
Drafting and automated document generation followed closely, along with legal research and case analysis, both cited by 36 per cent of respondents.
The smallest areas where firms believe AI can best be deployed to increase profitability are workflow and process automation (6 per cent), data extraction from documents (8 per cent), and due diligence and document analysis (9 per cent).
However, while expectations for the technology and its potential benefits remain high, real-world implementation tells a very different story.
Only 31 per cent of firms reported that they currently use AI for document review and analysis, despite it being seen as the most valuable application in the report.
Similarly, just 29 per cent are using AI for drafting and document generation, and 26 per cent for legal research and case law analysis.
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