AI Tools Move Litigation Decisions Earlier for In-House Counsel
Esther Birnbaum says AI lets in-house lawyers analyze data earlier in litigation.
Why it matters: This shift transforms in-house legal work by enabling proactive risk management and greater efficiency, reducing outside counsel reliance and costs.
- 52% of in-house counsel use generative AI, more than doubling since 2024.
- AI allows earlier data classification, helping legal teams understand cases before relevance review.
- 64% expect AI to reduce reliance on outside counsel; 50% anticipate lower outside counsel costs.
- 52% of legal teams use AI for contract review, with usage nearly quadrupling since 2024.
Esther Birnbaum, Executive Vice President of Legal Data Intelligence at HaystackID, highlights how AI is shifting litigation decisions upstream. AI enables in-house lawyers to take large data sets, classify them, and understand the topics involved well before assessing what is relevant or not.
This early analysis allows legal teams to proactively strategize, anticipating potential risks and streamlining workflows. According to the 2025 ACC and Everlaw survey, 52% of in-house counsel are actively using generative AI, a jump from 23% in 2024. Furthermore, 64% expect AI to reduce reliance on outside counsel, and 50% anticipate it will lower outside counsel costs.
AI's impact extends to contract review as well. A 2026 survey by LegalOn and In-House Connect shows that 52% of in-house legal teams are using or evaluating AI for contract review, with active usage nearly quadrupling since 2024. Given legal teams spend an average of 3.1 hours reviewing a single contract, 87% of respondents believe AI can significantly improve this process.
Veta T. Richardson, ACC President and CEO, adds, "In-house counsel are not only using AI to make their departments more efficient — they are reimagining how legal work is delivered, how costs are managed, and how value is defined." This mindset underscores the broader strategic shift AI brings to legal departments across corporations.
By the numbers:
- 52% — in-house counsel actively use generative AI as of 2025, up from 23% in 2024
- 64% — expect generative AI to reduce reliance on outside counsel
- 52% — in-house teams using or evaluating AI for contract review, quadrupled since 2024