AI adoption is accelerating across the legal profession. The entire federal court system and courts in 47 US states have adopted AI-powered tools. More than 20,000 law firms and legal departments now use AI, including 80 percent of the Am Law 100.
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a standard part of the legal workflow, the focus is shifting toward more advanced capabilities. One of the most transformative is the agentic workflow, a new way to work powered by AI that doesn’t just respond to prompts, but plans, executes, and adapts as the work unfolds.
Agentic workflows are gaining traction in law firms and corporate legal departments for one simple reason: they help legal professionals get complex work done faster without sacrificing oversight. And with rising pressure to do more with less, agentic workflows offer a real path forward. Not only do they support innovation, they also deliver tangible, measurable impact.
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From automation to orchestration
Real-world applications: What agentic workflows look like
Addressing concerns and barriers
From automation to orchestration
Traditional legal work typically follows static rules. This work may involve document formatting, flagging key terms, or routing files for approval, but each step is predefined and inflexible. Generative AI introduced a leap forward: with the right prompt, it can create content, summarize documents, or analyze contracts. Yet it still depends on the user to guide each task.
Agentic AI goes further. These systems don’t just generate responses. They act. They identify objectives, plan the required steps, take action across platforms, and adapt based on new inputs or unexpected results. They can also escalate questions to a human when needed.
Agentic AI responds to input by planning, deciding, and performing, not just creating. That distinction is critical for legal professionals who need both speed and reliability.
Why this matters now
Legal organizations are at a crossroads. According to the Thomson Reuters Future of Professionals report:
- 80% of professionals believe AI will transform their work within five years
- Only 38% expect to see significant AI adoption at their firm within the year
- 30% say their organization is moving too slowly on AI
This gap between belief and action is a competitive risk. As more legal teams adopt solutions with agentic workflows, those who hesitate risk falling behind. But the good news is that the first step doesn’t have to be a leap. Many teams begin with straightforward, high-effort tasks like document review or policy drafting, building momentum and confidence as they go. Agentic workflows are designed to be modular and adaptable, so you can start at your own pace and expand based on your team’s needs.
Beyond competitive pressure, professionals also recognize the benefits of AI. The report highlights that legal professionals expect to save nearly 240 hours a year with AI, equivalent to roughly $19,000 per attorney. With agentic workflows, that value is easier to realize, thanks to their ability to work through complex, multi-step processes with greater speed and minimal intervention.
Real-world applications: What agentic workflows look like
Agentic workflows are already reshaping how legal professionals approach tasks across litigation, transactional work, and regulatory compliance. Here are a few examples:
Legal research
Instead of manually searching databases and reviewing hundreds of cases, agentic workflows can:
- Interpret the legal issue
- Query authoritative sources like Westlaw
- Filter and synthesize relevant cases
- Provide summaries with citations
The result is more accurate research, faster turnaround, and built-in transparency.
Contract review and analysis
When reviewing NDAs, MSAs, or commercial agreements, agentic workflows can:
- Identify key clauses and deviations from standard language
- Cross-reference internal policies or playbooks
- Highlight risks and suggest redlines
These workflows reduce review time and improve consistency across contracts.
Company formation
When incorporating a Delaware C-Corp, for example, agentic workflows can:
- Generate a multi-step plan
- Retrieve relevant templates
- Identify jurisdiction-specific requirements
- Prompt for missing details
- Deliver a ready-to-file draft
These workflows can also support follow-up tasks like initial regulatory filings or organizing corporate documents for easy access. At each step, the system documents its actions and flags anything that needs your review.
Curious how these agentic workflows perform in actual legal settings?
Addressing concerns and barriers
Despite their promise, agentic workflows aren’t without challenges. Common concerns include:
- Complexity: Some worry the technology is too advanced to implement easily
- Trust: Others question whether AI can be relied on for legal work
- Integration: Many teams aren’t sure how to fit AI into existing workflows
These concerns are valid, but they’re also solvable. Built for ease of adoption, CoCounsel Legal—the single AI solution that helps legal professionals complete the broadest range of legal work—supports agentic workflows with human-in-the-loop review, giving professionals full control to review, revise, and approve outputs. Transparency is a feature, not an afterthought. And neither is security—professional-grade solutions offer enterprise-level data privacy protections, including encryption and compliance with industry standards.
Additionally, many professionals are surprised by how accessible agentic AI has become. You don’t need deep technical expertise or a dedicated IT team to get started. With a solution like CoCounsel Legal, legal teams can begin applying agentic workflows with the same ease as using any modern productivity tool.
Where to begin
The key to adopting agentic workflows is starting small and practical. Look for time-consuming tasks that follow clear rules, like document reviews, compliance checks, or early-stage drafting. For example, legal operations teams at mid-sized firms are starting with contract review workflows, while in-house counsel are using agentic AI for policy generation and risk assessment. These are ideal places to see quick wins in both speed and consistency.
But this isn’t just about saving time. Agentic workflows also lead to stronger research, more reliable outputs, and greater confidence in your work. They free up space for professionals to focus on what matters most: strategic thinking, client advising, and high-impact analysis.
With CoCounsel Legal, teams gain access to a growing library of agentic workflows built specifically for legal work. These are designed by attorney editors and continually updated to meet evolving needs, so firms don’t have to build them from scratch.
Explore how CoCounsel Legal brings agentic workflows to life.
A new standard for legal work
Agentic workflows aren’t just a technological upgrade. They represent a shift toward smarter, more strategic legal practice. By combining machine execution with human judgment, they create processes that are faster, more reliable, and defensible.
As these workflows become more accessible, they’re setting a new standard where professionals can focus less on repetitive tasks and more on high-impact thinking. That’s not just efficiency. It’s a better way to work.
For legal teams ready to lead the next phase of innovation, agentic workflows offer a practical, scalable path forward.
