DISCO Study Highlights Rapid Pace of Legal Generative AI Adoption, Key Barriers for Lawyers

Core Insights - Generative AI is rapidly transforming the legal technology landscape, particularly in eDiscovery, with 72% of legal professionals expecting to incorporate GenAI tools within the next 12 months or sooner [1][4][12] Industry Trends - The legal profession is experiencing a swift evolution driven by technological innovation, creating urgency among legal teams to adapt and enhance their performance [2][3] - The pressure to adopt AI solutions is increasing, with 43% of law firm participants and 64% of corporate legal departments feeling pressure from leadership to integrate AI [5][12] Adoption Challenges - Despite the growing comfort with AI capabilities, security concerns remain the primary barrier to adoption, with 68% of in-house participants and 70% of law firm participants citing data security and privacy as key concerns [7][12] - The sheer volume of data and its complexity are extending the litigation lifecycle, necessitating additional technology to manage these challenges [6][12] Future Outlook - The study indicates that most legal teams plan to incorporate generative AI into their routine processes within the next year, with 35% already having done so and 13% expecting to finish integration in six months [4][12] - The combination of human oversight with AI tools is seen as essential for maximizing the effectiveness of generative AI in legal practices [8][12]