Can AI Beat the Billable Hour?

According to PERSUIT’s 2024 survey of Global 100 law firms, adoption of generative AI (GenAI) in billable work is growing but remains limited in scope. The survey found that 53.33% of firms are already using GenAI tools in billable legal work, with another 40% planning to implement them within six months. However, despite this apparent enthusiasm, most firms reported that GenAI currently impacts only a small fraction of their billable work.

Among firms that were able to quantify this impact, the majority said 5% or less of billable work is affected by GenAI. PERSUIT’s report suggests this limited application may reflect a strategic choice to deploy GenAI in lower-risk, non-billable areas first, rather than in client-facing legal tasks.

These findings highlight a cautious approach to AI adoption within large law firms, many of which still rely heavily on the billable hour model. While in-house teams and corporate legal departments are moving more aggressively toward AI-driven efficiency, PERSUIT’s research underscores that Big Law remains at an early stage of integrating generative AI into their workflows, focusing primarily on experimentation and operational use rather than widespread transformation of client work.