Legalweek 2026: Five Takeaways on AI and the Future of Law
From apprenticeship and firm economics to client expectations and governance, key signals from Legalweek on how AI is reshaping the legal profession.
Each year, Legalweek brings together thousands of lawyers, technologists, and legal leaders to take stock of where the industry is headed. In hallway conversations and across sessions, this year’s conference made it clear that AI is no longer a future-facing discussion for the legal profession. It’s actively reshaping how legal work gets done, how firms compete, and what corporate clients expect from their outside counsel.
Throughout the week, Harvey tapped industry leaders Oz Benamram, Nikki Shaver, Ari Kaplan, Patrick DiDemonico, and our own Farrah Pepper to interview our customers about how AI is transforming their practice and what it means for the future of law firms and their clients.
Five Key Themes Heard at Legalweek
1. AI is reshaping apprenticeship and the skills lawyers need
As AI makes legal analysis faster and more abundant, the skills that define strong lawyers are shifting. The differentiator is increasingly the ability to ask the right questions, evaluate AI outputs, and apply sound professional judgment.
Interestingly, many firms report that senior partners are among the most effective AI users because they know what a high-quality answer looks like. This dynamic is beginning to reshape the traditional apprenticeship model, with partners and associates collaborating more closely around AI-assisted work to accelerate the development of junior lawyers.
2. Both the practice and business of law are evolving
AI isn’t only changing how legal work gets done, it is also raising questions about how legal services are priced, delivered, and scaled. Firms are increasingly thinking about how to shift from relying purely on leverage to building repeatable workflows that capture and scale professional judgment. At the same time, discussions around AI investment continue to raise questions about pricing and billing models. The firms moving fastest are recognizing that AI adoption is as much a business transformation as it is a technological one.
3. Agentic workflows are changing how ROI is measured
There were also conversations at Legalweek focused on the rise of agentic AI workflows that can coordinate multi-step legal tasks across systems. Rather than simply speeding up discrete tasks, these workflows have the potential to automate entire processes and enable lawyers to work across much larger volumes of data.
As a result, firms and in-house teams are beginning to rethink how they measure the value of AI. Instead of focusing only on time savings, the discussion is shifting toward workflow transformation, new service offerings, and broader operational impact.
4. Client expectations are rising as firms adopt AI
As AI becomes more embedded in legal work, corporate clients are becoming more aware of its potential and increasingly curious about how their outside counsel are using it. Many corporate legal departments are building their own AI capabilities and experimenting with drafting and analysis internally before sending work to firms for review. This dynamic is pushing law firms to articulate how AI improves the quality, speed, and efficiency of their services. In many cases, client service and AI expertise itself is becoming a key arena for differentiation.
This shift in client expectations was a central theme in Harvey’s Legalweek panel, “The Bar Has Moved: Legal AI and the New Client Reality,” moderated by Harvey’s Farrah Pepper and featuring leaders from Burges Salmon, Macquarie Capital, Pierson Ferdinand, and dentsu. During the discussion, Harvey CEO Winston Weinberg noted that clients are no longer waiting for firms to get comfortable with AI — expectations around speed, quality, and consistency have already shifted. For firm leaders, the challenge is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to adapt their organizations and value propositions to meet this new reality.
5. AI governance is now a top priority
While most legal teams have experimented with AI tools, far fewer have fully operationalized them across their organizations. Questions around data security, confidentiality, reliability, and responsible use remain top of mind for both firm and in-house legal leaders. As a result, many discussions at Legalweek centered on the need for clearer governance frameworks, internal guardrails, and structured deployment strategies. Establishing responsible AI practices is increasingly viewed as a prerequisite for scaling adoption.
More Insights From the Innovation Community
In our Innovation Spotlight discussions, leaders shared how they are driving AI adoption across their organizations, rethinking workflows and service delivery, and collaborating with clients in entirely new ways. The conversations explored everything from governance and responsible use to training the next generation of lawyers — and why the firms that embrace this moment will be the ones that thrive.
These conversations echo what was shared on stage throughout the week: AI is no longer just a tool for efficiency, it’s reshaping how law firms train lawyers, deliver services, and will compete in the years ahead.
