Law Firm Leaders Lean on MBWA to Oversee AI Integration
Law firm leaders are using 'managing by walking around' to keep AI deployment accountable and accurate.
Why it matters: AI adoption in law is accelerating, raising risks of over-automation and eroded oversight. Law firm leaders face increased pressure to balance efficiency with confidentiality, client expectations, and the maintenance of professional judgment amid rapid technological change.
- 79% of legal professionals globally used AI tools daily as of 2025.
- Legal tech market projected to hit $45.73B by 2030, growing at 9.1% CAGR.
- 80% of surveyed lawyers expect AI to make a high or transformational impact by 2029.
- Firms like McDermott Will & Emery encourage MBWA to sustain quality amid automation.
AI usage among legal professionals has become routine, with 79% using AI tools daily as of 2025. With surging automation, law firm leaders are reviving managing by walking around (MBWA) to avoid over-reliance on technology and safeguard core legal values.
- The global legal tech market is projected to reach $45.73B by 2030 (9.1% CAGR), underscoring how rapidly new tech, especially AI, is reshaping legal operations.
- According to Thomson Reuters, 80% of lawyers anticipate AI will have a high or transformational impact on their roles by 2029.
Clients are increasingly alert to how firms use AI. As Eric Goldstein, Chief Legal Officer at McDermott Will & Emery, explained, "Clients are now asking us directly what the impact of AI is going to be on their matters, but they still caution us to be careful with confidentiality and accuracy."
In response, firms like McDermott Will & Emery are borrowing from the tech world and reviving MBWA to reinforce accountability, highlight potential blind spots in AI-driven work, and spark more conversations about risk and best practice. A Lexblog opinion piece (April 10, 2026) notes that MBWA allows leaders to spot issues algorithms may miss, probe the use (and possible misuses) of AI, and remind teams that good lawyering still depends on judgment.
This shift isn’t just about monitoring—it's about culture. As Goldstein put it, "AI is a very wonderful gift in that it is a catalyst for the conversations about our business models and the scale of the firm that we would not have had without the AI opportunities."
While MBWA isn't new, its revival reflects renewed urgency among law firm management to ensure that technological tools complement, not supplant, critical human expertise.
By the numbers:
- 79% — Legal professionals using AI tools daily in 2025
- $45.73B — Projected global legal tech market size by 2030
- 80% — Lawyers who expect AI's impact to be high or transformational by 2029
Yes, but: No peer-reviewed studies currently quantify the impact of MBWA on AI-related legal risks, leaving much of its value anecdotal.
What's next: Expect more major firms to formalize MBWA-based management protocols as AI adoption deepens through 2026.