Legal Leaders See GenAI as Key to Shedding the 'Cost Center' Label
Only 4% of in-house legal leaders say generative AI cannot help their teams demonstrate business value, according to a report from Everlaw and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). The survey of 284 chief legal officers, general counsel and legal operations professionals also points to gaps in how departments measure performance today.
- Everlaw and the ACC surveyed 284 CLOs, GCs and legal ops professionals.
- Only 4% say GenAI will not help their team demonstrate business value.
- The top-cited benefit is faster delivery of legal support and matter resolution.
- Most departments track basic cost metrics, while far fewer measure outcomes relative to cost.
- 69% call GenAI adoption for demonstrating value "critically" or "very important."
What the survey found
Everlaw and the ACC surveyed 284 CLOs, GCs and legal ops professionals about how they expect generative AI to help them deliver better services faster and make a stronger case for their value as strategic partners. The report is titled "The Role of GenAI in Proving Corporate Law Department Value."
According to the report, it is early days for GenAI, but legal leaders say it is improving how they articulate business value and helping them redefine their status from "cost center" to business driver. Only 4% said GenAI will not help their team demonstrate business value.
The top-cited benefit was accelerating the delivery of legal support and matter resolution. Respondents also expect GenAI to help them gain strategic insights from legal data and to articulate quantifiable cost savings through better outside counsel management.
Metrics and infrastructure remain a hurdle
The report also identifies obstacles. Most in-house organizations track basic cost metrics such as total litigation spend. Far fewer measure more strategic indicators, such as outcomes relative to cost.
Many departments want to track these more advanced indicators, according to the report, but infrastructure is an obstacle. Budget is another. Everlaw and the ACC say in-house teams will need to bridge this gap to truly prove business value.
Interest in more strategic uses
Most respondents see the opportunity GenAI presents for performance reporting in the coming years. Looking beyond immediate cost savings, legal teams are beginning to explore more strategic applications, the report says. These include:
- projecting litigation outcomes
- surfacing strategic insights
- tracking performance
Urgency is high: 69% of respondents say it is "critically" or "very important" to adopt GenAI for demonstrating value, and to do so soon.
What it means for legal departments
The findings suggest that many in-house leaders view GenAI as a way to make their contribution visible in business terms, not only as a tool for speed. Yet the gap between the basic cost metrics most teams track and the outcome-based measures many want to adopt shows that data infrastructure and budget may shape how quickly that ambition becomes practice.
The full report is available from Everlaw by request and is delivered by email.
Everlaw: The Role of GenAI in Proving Corporate Law Department Value
