AI adoption and increasing ROI at midsize law firms
Midsize firms that implement AI with intent are seeing real financial returns - up to 3.9x better ROI. The reason is simple: less time on repeatable work, more focus on judgment, strategy, and client outcomes.
Generative AI adoption climbed from 14% to 26% in the past year, with law firms leading at 28%. And 59% of firms believe GenAI should be integrated into daily work. For midsize practices, that translates into a concrete competitive edge - without bloated overhead.
Highlights
- AI tools like Westlaw Precision's AI-Assisted Research and CoCounsel can cut research and review time by up to 80%.
- Midsize firms pair operational flexibility with strong demand, turning AI time savings into pricing strength and profit.
- Firms with visible AI strategies are 3.5x more likely to realize ROI.
AI advantages in the midsize firm space
Midsize firms sit in a sweet spot: fewer layers than Big Law, more resources than small practices. That mix makes AI adoption faster and easier to operationalize.
- Stronger demand growth: Rising demand puts pressure on turnaround time. AI lets teams absorb more work without adding headcount.
- Productivity momentum: After years of flat or falling productivity, midsize firms are seeing gains that AI can compound.
- Strategic pricing flexibility: Keep rates attractive while delivering premium-quality work by compressing hours on low-value tasks.
Measuring AI's financial impact
Document review and research: AI accelerates first-pass review, extracts key facts, and returns results with citations. Attorneys reclaim hours for strategy, client counseling, and negotiation.
Workflow automation: Triage inboxes, summarize records, draft first versions, and structure evidence faster. Every minute reclaimed from admin work becomes billable capacity.
Financial visibility: Real-time dashboards clarify which matters, clients, and practice areas are truly profitable. With clearer data, you can reprice, re-scope, or reallocate before margins slip.
Transformative results from real practices
Research in minutes, not hours
An attorney at Laffey Bucci D'Andrea Reich & Ryan reports saving up to 80% of prior legal research time using AI-Assisted Research in Westlaw Precision. "It allows you to hyper-focus on that incredibly important skill set - and less on the everyday monotony of what we sometimes do in the practice of law."
Finding critical evidence fast
At Sullivan Papain Block McManus Coffinas & Cannavo, CoCounsel surfaced key evidence in about seven minutes after a manual review missed it in two hours. It also parsed hundreds of pages of Medicare treatment codes, filtered what mattered, and ran the math on the lien reduction.
The takeaway: "If you're not using [CoCounsel], you could be more efficient. And in our practice, efficiency is everything."
Enhancing ROI with strategic AI implementation
A visible AI strategy is the difference between novelty and ROI. Firms with clear plans are 3.5x more likely to see returns.
- Identify high-friction tasks: List the top 2-3 time sinks (e.g., research, document review, summaries). Start there.
- Integrate, don't interrupt: Choose tools that slot into existing research, drafting, and review workflows.
- Track outcomes: Measure time saved, write-down reduction, realization, win rate, and quality indicators (fewer revisions, faster approvals).
- Invest in training: Commit to short, recurring enablement so usage becomes habit, not a one-off experiment.
90-day rollout plan (practical and lean)
- Weeks 1-2: Pick two workflows. Define baselines (average hours, cost, realization).
- Weeks 3-6: Pilot with a small team. Create simple playbooks and prompts. Capture before/after time on 10-15 matters.
- Weeks 7-12: Expand to an adjacent team. Build a metrics dashboard. Adjust pricing or staffing based on early wins.
Risk, ethics, and client confidence
AI adoption must respect confidentiality and professional responsibility. Document your review practices, citation checks, and data-handling rules to protect clients and the firm.
- Align with professional duties of competence, including technology competence requirements in many jurisdictions. See ABA Model Rule 1.1, Comment 8. Read the rule.
- Adopt an internal AI use policy and risk controls consistent with recognized frameworks such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework. Learn more.
See results now
Midsize firms using AI today are building an edge that compounds: faster matter cycles, stronger pricing options, and healthier margins. Over 20,000 U.S. firms already use CoCounsel to move work from start to finish with less friction.
If your team wants structured, role-specific upskilling on practical AI use, explore focused courses for legal professionals. Browse courses by job.
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The financial and operational benefits of AI for small and midsize law firms
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