In the recently published report, The State of Legal Tech by Morgan & Morgan and LawPro.AI, of the 300 personal injury firms surveyed, more than 60% reported that they have adopted and/or scaled their use of AI tools.
Yet, 50% of those firms also reported that their biggest challenge for implementing AI tools is assessing which tools are most reliable.
AI is no longer a futuristic concept for early adopters; it is becoming a baseline operational requirement for firms that want to remain competitive. The effectiveness of AI isn't in investing in the latest and greatest tool; it is in the scalability of your processes.
How to Make This Work in Practice
The difference between "playing with tech" and "profiting from tech" comes down to execution. By identifying the specific business outcome you hope to achieve with this technology, you can automate or optimize key tasks and replicate those processes repeatedly without incurring additional costs beyond the initial investment.
Higher case volumes and larger recoveries indicate a growing firm. AI can fuel this kind of growth when approached with clear goals in mind.
Before beginning your search for AI tools, ask yourself the following questions:
Which business objective are you trying to achieve?
- Increasing case acquisition?
- More efficient case resolution?
- Maximizing case value?
According to the State of Legal Tech report, the top drivers for AI adoption identified by firms are:
- Reducing repetitive administrative tasks (61%).
- Improving accuracy and consistency (59%).
- Managing growing caseloads (52%).
Where to Apply Leverage: High-Impact Use Cases
Firms also reported which areas they plan to concentrate on over the next 12 to 18 months:
Target High-Yield Workflows:
- Document Review & Medical Record Summarization: This is the needle-in-a-haystack problem. AI is excellent at organizing large volumes of records and highlighting legally relevant data, such as treatment gaps or specific injuries, which allows attorneys to write demands and build a case strategy faster.
- Intake and Lead Qualification: A missed call is dollars walking out the door. AI is capable of handling initial calls from potential clients, but cannot yet close a contract on that first call. Utilizing AI voice agents to bring cases in, evaluate them quickly, and then your staff can determine which track they should be on. Firms are already successfully using AI voice agents to qualify leads, verify policy limits with carriers, and ensure no client falls through the cracks. Your best people don’t need to be held up on the phone with insurance carriers to confirm a demand has been received.
- Document Drafting: Tools are now capable of getting a document 85-95% of the way to completion. This solves the blank page problem, allowing your staff to focus on the final mile of legal argument rather than the first mile of data entry.
- Case Auditing & Compliance: For larger firms, agentic AI can act as an auditor, helping leadership find high-value cases hidden in inventories to ensure they aren't settling for less than what a case is worth. Agentic AI can also serve as a compliance officer, flagging missing documents and surfacing deadline risks. This shift builds compliance into the workflow itself, rather than relying on manual oversight.
Bring your team together to:
- Identify the processes that lead to the desired objective
- Document the ideal scenario in which those processes happen seamlessly
- Begin considering which tools can automate those processes
Technology moves fast; there’s always a new model or a new tool. Staying focused on the specific business problems you’re trying to solve can help you identify the right tools faster. It’s much easier to have conversations with various tech vendors if you are an expert on the outcome you want from your AI investment.
Put Your Money Where Your ROI Is
Investing in AI tools doesn't necessarily require a war chest; more than 55% of firms surveyed maintain annual AI budgets under $5,000. However, a more recent report by Thomson Reuters and Georgetown Law cited a 9.7% increase in law firm spending on tech tools in 2025.
Integration and implementation are keys to ensuring the cost of the tech is worthwhile. If your team isn’t adopting the tool into their workflow, that’s money wasted. Understanding how your team is operating will enable you to teach them how they can incorporate those tools into their workflow.
Whether you have five people or five hundred, people respond positively to new tools, systems, and procedures when you include them in the implementation process. Sit side by side with them, talk about their problems, and understand what they're trying to accomplish in their roles.
While new initiatives can help propel your firm into the future, too much of a good thing can create confusion among your staff and hinder the growth you set out to achieve.
Create a culture of consistent improvement and change over time without overwhelming your staff. Set reasonable quarterly goals and logically map out the steps to achieve them, then assess the progress. Don’t be afraid to try new things and fail.
The Barrier: Navigating Trust and Accuracy
While efficiency is driving adoption, trust remains the primary barrier. Nearly 70% of firms surveyed cite accuracy as their main concern.
This is a valid concern. AI should be treated as a tool for transparency and speed, not a replacement for expert judgment. It cannot, for instance, perfectly predict the value of a case. Instead, treat AI as a junior associate that never sleeps—a tool to summarize facts and surface counter-arguments so you can make better decisions.
The Bottom Line
With over 60% of firms already leveraging these tools, efficiency is becoming the industry standard.
Implementing tech isn’t easy, but it doesn't have to be complex. You don't need to be an expert on every new model that hits the market; you just need to be an expert on your own business problems.
Leveraging technology works for any firm size, whether you have five attorneys or five hundred. By automating tasks and streamlining workflows, you can accomplish more with the same resources.
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