The way we work is changing rapidly and changing in ways that legal professionals never expected. Expectations are different. The pace is faster, and managing the complexity of information is growing at a pace that the industry hasn’t faced before. With 79% of law firm professionals now incorporating AI tools into their daily work, and corporate legal departments being even more proactive in adopting AI technologies, legal professionals are no longer asking if they should adopt AI but how they can do so effectively. 

With so much advancement in the world of AI, what should legal professionals be aware of and prepare for throughout the next year? Based on research and input from hundreds of industry experts and professionals across legal, the 2025 Legal Tech Trends report by NetDocuments shares top trends shaping the future of AI-driven legal practice, why these trends are making such an impact in legal, and what your team can do to prepare. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s covered.

AI Abilities and Knowledge Take Center Stage 

AI is accelerating legal workflows, including document interaction, summarizations, and contract review and analysis, and more. It’s no surprise that the use of artificial intelligence by law firm professionals increased 315% from 2023 to 2024. It’s not just law firms that see the value of using AI: 67% of corporate counsel expect their law firms to use cutting-edge technology, including generative AI.

The legal industry’s interest in AI reflects a broader trend of workforce transformation, where 75% of survey respondents expect to change their talent strategies within two years in response to advancements in GenAI. Law schools are responding to the demand for AI skills by integrating generative AI training for new junior lawyers.

Organizations that don’t adapt their roles and job architecture to the new norms of an AI-powered workforce could miss out on top talent. And with almost one-third of legal professionals considering leaving or having already left the industry due to mental health, burnout, or stress, AI presents a unique opportunity to ease the burden of many time-intensive tasks and curb the mental drain currently being felt.

AI Agents Become a New Secret Weapon

For the legal sector, agentic AI has the potential to be transformative. In 2025, early adopters will gain a new superpower—effectively adding a new legal assistant to their team. When they no longer need to constantly supervise AI, legal professionals will be able to deliver services better and quicker than ever before. 

This trend reflects a user-centric approach to software, where technology serves as a natural extension of workflows and enables professionals to focus entirely on delivering results. With 37% of law firm employees and 42% of their corporate counterparts saying they experience challenges in integrating GenAI with existing legal systems and processes, this will be the year that legal tech heads toward an agent-to-agent world, where AI agents facilitate instant access to information, providing answers to complex queries across various platforms and contexts.

Legal professionals increasingly expect AI tools to work invisibly within their existing platforms. Embedding AI capabilities into familiar environments eliminates the need to switch between tools, allowing legal teams to manage their work more efficiently.

By bringing AI to content, rather than requiring content to be migrated to standalone AI platforms, legal teams can maximize the value of these technologies while minimizing disruption. They can also deploy much faster.

Proof of AI Will Be the Dealmaker of 2025 

Leading vendors in the legal tech space are increasingly viewed as essential collaborators who can help organizations integrate AI-driven tools tailored to the unique demands of the legal profession. These partnerships facilitate faster deployment, access to ongoing innovation and the ability to stay ahead of emerging trends.

“Nearly half of Am Law 100 firms report relying on external partners for AI implementation and support, citing cost efficiency and access to innovation as primary drivers.” Echoing this sentiment in the broader business landscape, “Traditionally, only large enterprises with deep pockets could afford to build advanced AI infrastructure. Today, strategic collaborations are democratizing AI, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes.”

If a service provider doesn’t have a clear strategic plan for the use and advancement of AI, it could influence whether a partnership continues or a contract is renewed.

DMS 2.0 as Legal’s AI Powerhouse

An intelligent DMS enables legal teams to bring AI to their content versus taking content to the AI. With 67% of firms indicating plans to upgrade their DMS by 2025, AI-driven features will be essential capabilities to support businesses strategic goals.

AI capabilities are being built into the DMS so that content can stay within the platform rather than having to move the content into a separate AI tool. Semantic search capabilities allow legal professionals to query systems using everyday language. For example, if searching for “dog,” it would know to also look for terms like “Labrador” and “Poodle.” This will finally give lawyers the type of search experience they’ve always wanted—without the manual effort of adding tags or metadata.

-generation DMS platforms are also introducing automation and intelligence into document workflows. Tasks like tagging, compliance checks and version control are now automated, freeing legal teams from repetitive administrative work. For example, an intelligent DMS can extract renewal dates from contracts and trigger a renewal email alert three months prior to the date.

These DMS platforms are also highly scalable, ideal for ambitious legal teams. Greg Lambert, speaking at the KM&I conference this year, adds this observation,

“The adaptability of AI-powered DMS is another significant advantage. These systems can scale with a firm’s needs, automatically adjusting to changes in data volume, practice areas or client demands.”

Ethics and Transparency Reign in AI’s Next Frontier

As AI adoption accelerates across the legal industry, ensuring ethical use and transparency is crucial. While AI offers immense potential, it also presents challenges, including accuracy, bias in algorithms, lack of explainability and data security concerns. Addressing these issues is essential for building trust in AI-driven solutions and ensuring compliance with emerging regulations.

Privacy and data security are critical in the legal sector, where sensitive client information must be protected. AI systems must adhere to stringent security protocols, including data anonymization and encryption, to meet regulatory standards. The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released its first formal opinion this year covering the growing use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in the practice of law, with more guidelines sure to follow.

While AI can automate tasks and generate insights, legal professionals must validate these outputs to maintain accountability. Workflows must incorporate reviews by qualified lawyers before finalizing AI outputs. Transparency is equally important, particularly as AI systems increasingly influence legal decisions. Explainable AI models, which include interpretability layers, allow legal professionals to understand how conclusions are reached.

AI Will Reshape Legal Billing 

More than half of legal professionals expect AI-driven efficiencies to impact the prevalence of the billable hour. Some firms have already shifted toward flat fees, subscriptions and hybrid models. Firms can use the same approaches for AI-assisted work. For example, firms might charge a fixed fee for AI-assisted document review while continuing to bill for strategy development and client consultations on an hourly basis. These alternative arrangements provide greater predictability for clients and align costs with outcomes rather than time spent.

Alternative fee models support client expectations as well, with 42% of surveyed firms exploring hybrid models to account for AI’s impact on efficiency and clients increasingly demanding alternative fee arrangements. Clients now expect law firms to use AI where possible to improve efficiency so they can spend appropriate time on strategic thinking for their cases Additionally, as clients demand faster, more transparent services, fixed or subscription-based fees provide clarity and flexibility. This approach aligns objectives, encourages deeper collaboration and helps firms differentiate themselves in a competitive market.