I recently spent a week immersed in the world of legal operations, attending both the Consero Legal Operations Forum and the Bay Area Regional LegalOps.com event. The whirlwind of presentations, panel discussions, and priceless hallway conversations provided a unique snapshot of where legal ops is today and, more importantly, where it’s headed. Three clear themes emerged: AI has moved from experimentation to implementation, in-house teams are building smarter in-house capacity, and data-driven decision-making has become essential for proving legal's value.
What is the key driver of legal ops transformation in 2026?
It’s no shock that AI was the main focus at both events. But the discussions have come a long way. We’re no longer stuck on the "what if" questions—now it’s all about "how to." Legal teams are diving in, testing, and using AI to tackle real-world challenges. The most common use cases are:
- Contract review and analysis: Teams are using AI to accelerate the review of high-volume, low-risk agreements and quickly identify non-standard clauses. One team shared how their implementation of a "copilot for contracts" sped up their commercial transaction cycle.
- Risk triage and document summarization: Automating the initial review of documents to triage risk and provide summaries for attorney review is becoming a popular starting point. One company detailed its year-long project to build an AI assistant for product reviews, processing over 5,000 documents with high accuracy.
- Internal knowledge management: AI-powered tools help teams query internal knowledge bases and historical data, enabling them to find answers and precedents faster than traditional methods.
While the enthusiasm is high, so is the sense of caution. Discussions frequently turned to the challenges of AI adoption. Concerns around governance, data security, and calculating a clear return on investment were top of mind for everyone. The "buy versus build" debate is also a major consideration, with many teams weighing the benefits of off-the-shelf solutions against the need for more bespoke, internally developed tools.
Building smarter in‑house capacity
What we’re seeing is a deliberate shift toward expanding in‑house capability. Legal leaders are redesigning how work gets done so their teams can take on greater volume and complexity, make better decisions earlier, and reduce reliance on outside counsel, without adding headcount.
At both events, departments shared how much work they are intentionally moving in‑house, with some now handling up to 75 percent internally. This reflects growing confidence in internal teams, supported by better data, technology, and clearer ways of working. As in‑house teams take on more substantive work, the role of outside counsel becomes more targeted and strategic. That maturity shows up in results: one department reported negotiating rates 45 percent below rack rates, enabled by disciplined billing guidelines and clearer expectations around value.
Legal ops is leveraging data to demonstrate value
The ability to leverage clean, reliable data has become essential for making strategic decisions, proving value, and securing budget for new initiatives. Speakers emphasized the critical role of data in:
- Justifying technology investments: Building a business case for a new CLM or AI tool requires hard data on current inefficiencies and projected ROI. One presenter noted that "bean counters" don't want to hear about "experimentation"; they want to see the value delivered.
- Managing outside counsel: Metrics on law firm performance, adherence to billing guidelines, and cost-effectiveness are being used to drive more productive conversations and hold firms accountable.
- Demonstrating legal's value: Legal ops teams are using dashboards and reports to reframe the department from a cost center to a business enabler. By articulating the cost of a problem and presenting a solution, they can show how legal accelerates revenue and reduces risk.
Many speakers admitted that getting the data right is a journey. It often starts with a "firefighting" mode of manual tracking in spreadsheets but eventually moves toward more sophisticated, automated reporting that provides true business intelligence.
What to expect next
Based on the conversations at these events, I predict the upcoming conference season will be dominated by practical AI case studies moving beyond the pilot phase, deeper dives into governance impact metrics, and continued focus on optimizing outside counsel spend.
The most inspiring takeaway was the shared sense of optimism and collaborative spirit. Legal operations is filled with smart, driven people who are passionate about innovation and aren't afraid to tackle complex challenges. If you're in this space, I encourage you to attend an event, join the conversation, and be part of shaping the future of the legal industry.
