The most effective AI strategies for corporate law departments start with business goals

2026-04-21 · Source: Thomson Reuters Institute · Field: Legal & Regulatory — Legal Technology (LegalTech), Corporate Law & Business Legal Services, Compliance & Risk Management · Depth: Intermediate, medium

Summary

A Thomson Reuters Institute (TRI) report, "2026 State of the Corporate Law Department Report," highlights that nearly half (47%) of corporate law departments have adopted AI, but many struggle to align its use with broader business goals beyond internal efficiency. While 28% of General Counsels (GCs) prioritize technology, double the previous year, most AI metrics still focus on departmental usage or cost savings. The report advocates for GCs to measure AI success by business impact, such as improved contract win rates, reduced revenue leakage, faster deal completion, or dollars of risk avoided. Effective AI strategies should aim for multiple forms of business value, including improved service delivery, strengthened operations, growth support, and risk reduction, rather than solely cost savings.

Key takeaway

For General Counsels developing AI strategies, prioritize aligning AI initiatives with enterprise-wide business objectives like revenue growth and risk reduction, rather than just internal legal department efficiency. Your AI success metrics should directly reflect business outcomes, such as improved deal close rates or quantified risk avoidance, to demonstrate tangible value to the C-Suite and secure continued investment.

Key insights

Aligning AI strategies in corporate law with overarching business goals drives greater impact than focusing solely on efficiency.

Principles

• AI strategy must start with business goals.
• Measure AI success by business impact.
• Seek multiple forms of business value from AI.

Method

Connect AI usage to larger business goals by deploying unlocked capacity, moving beyond internal efficiency metrics to measure impact on revenue, risk avoidance, and overall business success.

In practice

• Track contract win rates from AI use.
• Quantify dollars of risk avoided by AI.
• Collaborate with business units on AI metrics.

Topics

• Corporate Law AI Strategy
• Business Impact Metrics
• Generative AI Use Cases
• Legal Department Efficiency
• Risk Avoidance

Best for: Executive, Director of AI/ML, Legal Professional, Consultant

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Thomson Reuters Institute.