AI and the redesign of legal work – LexisNexis
Most lawyers now use AI for legal work, but they are drawing a clear line between high-risk and low-risk applications.
For client-facing, high-liability tasks such as legal research and formal drafting, specialist legal AI platforms are the preferred choice, according to a January 2026 survey of 848 UK legal professionals. When professional accountability is on the line, credibility, authority and traceability matter.
Generic AI tools, meanwhile, are more often used for lower-risk internal drafting and operational tasks, where efficiency and speed carry greater weight than external scrutiny.
Where AI is embedded today
AI is now concentrated in core legal activity:
- 66% use AI for legal research
- 52% use it for document summarisation and knowledge drafting
- 51% use it for client-related drafting
- Yet only 17% say AI is embedded into their organisation’s strategy and operations
Adoption at task level is widespread. Strategic integration is still evolving.
The question for leaders is no longer whether to experiment. It is whether to redesign workflows around AI deliberately and with clear governance.
This report examines:
- Where workflow integration is accelerating
- The trust gap shaping platform decisions
- What comes next, including predictive and agentic systems
Download the full report to see how AI is reshaping legal performance in 2026 — and what that means for your organisation.
