Litigation firms using professional-grade AI tools gain measurable benefits in case analysis, document review, and matter management
Highlights
- Litigation firms face intense competitive pressure to adopt AI, as hesitation results in lost efficiency, talent migration, and an inability to meet client demands.
- AI integration delivers quantifiable ROI across litigation workflows. The technology is projected to save each professional 240 hours annually, translating to a $32 billion industry-wide impact.
- Professional-grade AI, such as Thomson Reuters CoCounsel Legal, offers secure, purpose-built capabilities grounded in verified legal content. It significantly outperforms general AI, delivering measurable returns for early-adopting firms.
The legal industry has reached a pivotal stage in AI adoption. Law firms, including litigation practitioners, must constantly consider how to maintain a competitive edge. While some firms are racing ahead with AI integration, others hesitate — and that hesitation is becoming costly.
Recent data from the Thomson Reuters Future of Professionals report reveals a stark reality: firms without significant AI adoption plans are already losing efficiency gains and watching top talent migrate to more innovative environments.
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The competitive reality reshaping litigation
Efficiency gains across litigation workflows
Why professional-grade AI matters
Enhancing the future of litigation work
The competitive reality reshaping litigation
Today’s litigation firms are operating under unprecedented pressure. Economic uncertainty has intensified client demands for efficiency, leading to increased rate shopping and forcing firms to justify every billable hour. Rising inflation and interest rates deepen this scrutiny, exposing the limitations of the traditional “more hours equal more revenue” approach.
But AI-enabled competition creates the real disruption. Firms using professional-grade AI tools are establishing advantages that compound daily. They’re delivering faster case analysis, more accurate document review, and strategic insights that manual processes simply cannot match—meaning they’re delivering more value for their clients.
Meanwhile, those that delay adoption face a double penalty: declining efficiency compared to competitors, and difficulty attracting talent who view AI tools as essential to modern legal practice.
Efficiency gains across litigation workflows
AI adoption presents litigation firms with measurable opportunities across four key areas:
- Document review and analysis represents the most immediate impact zone. AI-powered tools can analyze vast document sets. Imagine processing 80,000 pages to identify specific information in hours rather than weeks. This capability allows litigators to focus on strategy and client counsel rather than manual document sorting.
- Predictive case analytics uses historical data and similar fact patterns to forecast case outcomes. Litigators can provide clients with data-driven advice about success likelihood and potential financial outcomes, transforming client conversations from speculation to strategic planning.
- Real-time matter management offers practice heads centralized visibility into case status, accounts receivable, and performance metrics. This systematic approach replaces reactive management with proactive decision-making based on comprehensive data insights.
- Reducing time spent on routine tasks addresses critical efficiency gaps. Thomson Reuters research reveals that junior associates spend 60-80% of their time on routine research and document review — tasks that AI can handle more efficiently and accurately.
Legal professionals can quantify the ROI: they expect to save approximately 240 hours annually through AI adoption, translating to an average annual value of $19,000 per professional. Across the U.S. legal sector, this projects to a $32 billion annual impact.
Why professional-grade AI matters
Consumer-grade AI tools like ChatGPT offer limited value for litigation work because they’re built for general use. The real opportunity lies in purpose-built AI solutions designed specifically for legal professionals.
Forward-thinking firms are already adopting professional-grade tools like Thomson Reuters CoCounsel Legal, with capabilities that include:
- Analyzing case law patterns and precedents
- Drafting preliminary legal documents with appropriate citations
- Extracting key information from complex legal documents
- Managing deadline tracking and priority systems
CoCounsel Legal delivers measurable results because it addresses specific legal challenges rather than providing generic capabilities. And the report data supports this targeted approach: 53% of organizations already see ROI from AI adoption, with 81% of those with visible AI strategies experiencing returns compared to only 23% of those without significant AI plans.
CoCounsel Legal is also built with enterprise-level security protocols and data governance frameworks that meet the stringent confidentiality requirements mandated by legal ethics rules and client privilege protections. The platform’s integration with Thomson Reuters’ verified legal content ensures heightened accuracy by grounding AI responses in authoritative content rather than potentially unreliable web sources.
Real-world implementation
Consider the experience of Jessica Klander and Daniel Olson at Bassford Remele, a well-established Minneapolis firm with more than a century of practice history. Klander brings fifteen years of experience to her dual role as Chief Operating Officer and Co-chair of the Consumer Finance practice group, while Olson has spent thirteen years with the firm handling both employment law and commercial litigation matters.
“Although we’ve been around for 140 years, we are a firm that is known for adopting technology early,” says Klander.
Their strategic use of Thomson Reuters solutions — including CoCounsel, Westlaw Precision, and Practical Law — has enhanced operational efficiency, strengthened talent acquisition, and elevated client service delivery.
Olson uses Westlaw Precision primarily for legal research, citing tremendous efficiency gains, and also uses the CoCounsel assistant. “On any given day, I feel like I save six to eight hours of attorney time,” he says.
Despite initial security considerations, the firm recognized that GenAI could be implemented with appropriate safeguards and embraced comprehensive adoption.
“I really see the generative AI component of litigation as being the trendsetter in the way that we’re going to practice,” Olson explains. “To the extent we can be at the forefront of that is good not only for the legal services that we’re providing, but also for our clients.”
Enhancing the future of litigation work
Early AI adopters in litigation are achieving measurable productivity gains and securing decisive competitive advantages. They’re building institutional knowledge about AI implementation, training teams on AI-enhanced workflows, and developing client relationships based on superior service delivery.
Firms that fail to meet these expectations risk losing ground to AI-enabled competitors that can deliver superior outcomes at competitive rates. By developing and executing AI strategies now, you’ll position your firm to capture significant ROI while building sustainable advantages.
AI will not replace professionals, but AI-powered professionals will. AI-enabled professionals will gain a competitive edge, boosting both their personal impact and their organization’s long-term value.
Thomson Reuters President and Chief Executive Officer
CoCounsel Legal
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