AI Adoption in Law Firms: Insights from AffiniPay's Industry Report

The 2025 AffiniPay Legal Industry Report surveyed over 2,800 legal professionals to provide a detailed view of how law firms of all sizes and practice areas are using technology and approaching artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, including generative artificial intelligence (GAI). 

This year’s report combines firm-level data with individual user responses to provide a holistic view of how AI is impacting legal workflows and how that data differs by firm size and practice area.

Individual Interest in Generative AI Is Growing

As awareness of generative AI grows, interest in learning about it and applying it to legal work is also increasing. According to the Report, 31% of individual legal professionals reported using generative AI tools in their work. That’s up from 27% in 2023, a modest but measurable year-over-year increase.

Those using AI tools rely on them regularly. Legal AI usage occurs daily for 45% of respondents, and weekly for 40%. This suggests that once adopted, AI becomes a consistent part of daily workflows.

Firm-Level AI Adoption Shows a Slight Decline

While individual use is trending upward, the data shows that firm-wide adoption of generative AI tools has slightly decreased. In the 2024 Report, 24% of firms reported using generative AI tools in their operations. This year, that number dropped to 21%.

This decline likely reflects the cautious approach many firms are taking. Rather than rolling out AI across the board, firms appear to be testing these tools in limited ways—through pilot programs or in specific departments—before committing to broader implementation. That approach is consistent with the challenges presented by the early-stage nature of generative AI, where ethical concerns, regulatory uncertainty, and risk management continue to factor into technology decisions.

Usage Varies Widely by Practice Area

The data shows that interest and implementation rates vary significantly across practice areas for both individuals and law firms.

First, let’s review personal adoption rates. The data reveals that immigration practitioners lead in AI adoption, with 47% reporting using generative AI in their daily workflows. Other practice areas with high individual adoption rates include personal injury (37%), civil litigation (36%), and criminal law (28%).

At the firm level, civil litigation practices report the highest adoption levels, with 27% of firms using generative AI tools. Personal injury and family law firms follow at 20% each, while trusts and estates and criminal law firms have adoption rates of 18%. 

The lowest firm-level adoption rate was 17% in immigration firms, despite high individual use by immigration legal professionals. This data suggests that the majority of AI use in that practice area may occur informally or independently, outside of firm-wide systems or policies.

Firm Size Is a Key Factor in AI Adoption

The report also indicates that firm size plays a significant role in generative AI adoption rates and use cases. The larger the firm, the more likely it is to have adopted AI tools, particularly those integrated into existing legal research or practice management platforms.

For firms with 51 or more lawyers, 39% report using legal-specific generative AI tools. That’s nearly double the rate reported by firms with 50 or fewer lawyers, where usage rate data hovered around 20% across solo, small, and mid-sized practices.

This disparity likely reflects differences in access to technology. Larger firms are more likely to subscribe to major legal research platforms—many of which are rapidly integrating AI functionality—and are also more likely to have IT support, training infrastructure, and compliance protocols in place to support adoption. 

In comparison, smaller firms may be exploring free or consumer-grade AI tools rather than legal-specific platforms. And many have not yet established formal implementation processes or policies.

AI Use Cases in Law Practice

Another notable trend from the report is that legal professionals who regularly use generative AI prefer to apply it to early-stage legal tasks. Drafting correspondence is the most common use case, with 54% of respondents indicating they use AI for that purpose. Nearly half—47%—use it for brainstorming ideas or strategies, and 46% use it for general legal research. Summarizing documents is also a common application, cited by 39% of users.

Like last year, the data indicates that legal professionals continue to rely on generative AI for less critical legal work, such as brainstorming and generating content quickly. However, highly analytical work is often avoided since the technology continues to be error-prone, and all output must be carefully reviewed before being submitted to the court or sent to clients. 

Even so, the fact that 85% of AI users who have already adopted it engage with it either daily or weekly highlights a growing level of comfort with the tools. And those users experience productivity gains, with 65% saving between 1-5 hours each week, and 12% reclaiming 6-10 hours, proving that those who have already integrated it into their routines are benefiting significantly.

A Cautious but Active Adoption Landscape

The 2025 AffiniPay data suggests that AI is finding a foothold in law firms at a measured pace. Practice area and firm size continue to shape how AI is being used—and whether it’s being adopted.

While individual lawyers show increased comfort using generative AI, particularly for drafting and general research tasks, firm-wide integration is progressing more slowly. Large firms, which have a more robust infrastructure for evaluating new technology than smaller firms, are leading the way.

In many cases, AI use is still informal and driven by individual initiative rather than top-down implementation. Whether that changes will likely depend on further developments in legal-specific AI offerings, regulatory guidance, and continued evaluation of risks, cost, and efficiency.

For more insights into how legal professionals are responding to AI adoption, get a copy of the full report here.