Legal Aid Groups Adopt AI at Twice the Rate of the Wider Legal Field
Legal aid organizations are using AI at roughly double the rate of the wider legal profession, according to a new report from legal technology company Everlaw. The survey of 112 legal aid professionals found that 74% of organizations already use AI in their work, and 88% of respondents believe it can help address the access to justice gap to some extent.
- Everlaw's report surveyed 112 legal aid professionals, in partnership with NLADA, Paladin, and LawSites.
- 74% of legal aid organizations report using AI, double the generative AI adoption rate of the wider legal profession, according to Everlaw.
- 90% of respondents said full use of AI would let them serve more clients, and 17% estimated up to 50% more.
- 88% believe AI can help address the access to justice gap to some extent.
- Respondents cited data privacy, confidentiality, and hallucinations as concerns.
A report built on legal aid voices
The report is titled The AI Advantage: How Technology Can Help Bridge the Justice Gap. Everlaw presented it in partnership with the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, Paladin, and LawSites. It draws on responses from 112 legal aid professionals.
Everlaw frames the findings against a long-standing problem. According to the company, 92% of civil legal problems encountered by low-income Americans get no or inadequate legal help, and the U.S. ranks 107th of 142 countries in affordability and accessibility of civil justice. Legal aid societies often bear the brunt of this crisis, Everlaw says, with large caseloads, staffing shortfalls, and time-consuming tasks.
Adoption outpaces the wider profession
The headline number is adoption. Of the legal aid organizations surveyed, 74% report they are already using AI in their work. Everlaw says this is double the generative AI adoption rate of the wider legal profession, based on results from its 2025 Ediscovery Innovation Report.
The company reads this as a sign that AI is not a tool reserved for large law firms, but a technology being driven by organizations that serve vulnerable populations.
The survey also asked about capacity. According to the results, 90% of respondents said using AI to its full potential would enable them to serve more clients. Some of them, 17%, estimated that AI may help them serve 50% more clients. Everlaw points to automating high-volume, time-consuming work such as initial intake and document summarization, which it says would free staff attorneys for court appearances and direct client advocacy.
Optimism, with caveats
On the broader question of the justice gap, 88% of respondents believe AI can help address it to some extent. Scheree Gilchrist, Chief Innovation Officer at Legal Aid of North Carolina, is quoted in the report: "We will never be able to 'lawyer ourselves' out of this access-to-justice crisis."
The report does not present AI as a cure-all. Survey respondents cited concerns about data privacy, confidentiality, and hallucinations. Everlaw says the challenge now is how to implement AI responsibly, ethically, and at scale, rather than whether to adopt it.
What it means for legal aid providers
Everlaw ties the findings to its own product. The company says its Everlaw AI Assistant was created with privacy, control, and validation capabilities at the forefront, and that it offers this suite of generative AI features to nonprofit and pro bono practices free of charge.
The results come from a survey commissioned and published by a vendor, so the figures reflect the views of the 112 professionals who responded and Everlaw's own interpretation. Still, they suggest that legal aid groups, which often work with limited funding and staff, see AI mainly as a way to reach clients they cannot currently serve, while remaining wary of confidentiality and accuracy risks.
