How The Adecco Group is Creating the Legal Department of the Future

The Adecco Group is the world’s leading talent solutions and advisory company, connecting millions of people and organizations each day. Operating in more than 60 countries across three global business units — Adecco, Akkodis, and LHH — the Group’s mission is to make the future work for everyone.

The Legal & Compliance department spans 45 countries and includes 370 professionals supporting every aspect of the business — from contracts and litigation to mergers, regulatory compliance, and data privacy.

Under the leadership of Group General Counsel Stefan Sulzer and SVP and Head of Group Corporate Legal & Global Legal Operations Andreas Vosskamp, the team is driving an ambitious transformation: creating the legal department of the future — one that blends operational mastery with human-centered lawyering.

The Adecco Group operates in a low-margin, high-volume industry where speed and consistency are essential. The legal team supports over 300,000 contracts and numerous employment-related litigations each year — all while navigating increasingly complex regulatory frameworks across dozens of jurisdictions.

“Cost pressure is constant,” says Vosskamp. “We’re expected to do more with less — and that model isn’t sustainable. We needed to free up our lawyers from repetitive work so they could focus on high-value, strategic tasks.”

An internal analysis confirmed the challenge: too much time spent on administrative and low-value tasks. That insight sparked the vision that now drives The Adecco Group’s transformation — to build the legal department of the future, where AI amplifies human capability.

In 2024, the Legal & Compliance team tested multiple generative AI platforms in parallel — comparing accuracy, usability, and scope across real use cases like contract review, policy drafting, and cross-border research. Harvey emerged as the clear leader.

“Harvey stood out for its intuitive interface, legal precision, and ability to handle multilingual, high-volume work,” says Vosskamp

The team began rolling out Harvey in mid-2024 as part of its digital and innovation roadmap, initially equipping 100 lawyers with licenses. A dedicated network of AI champions and structured training, supported by prompt engineers, helped build confidence and scale adoption quickly.

Adoption quickly surged. “We now have a waiting list of people who want access,” says Vosskamp. “The addiction rate is high — those who have it don’t want to give it up.”

For The Adecco Group, Harvey’s impact is both measurable and meaningful. Now, Harvey is embedded into daily practice, delivering both measurable efficiencies and a renewed sense of purpose across the team.

Strategic Independence

The team has already achieved a 5–10% reduction in reliance on outside counsel, freeing resources for innovation and upskilling.

“We expect these numbers to rise — the more we use Harvey, and the more we leverage our own legal expertise, the greater the impact will be on reducing outside counsel reliance,” notes Sulzer.

“We don’t have lawyers in every country, which meant we often went external for specialty advice,” adds Vosskamp. “Now, Harvey gives us a quick first view — allowing us to handle in-house the kind of work we used to outsource, from research and first-draft analysis to jurisdictional comparisons.”

Expanded Capability and Confidence

The Adecco Group’s lawyers report saving up to eight hours per week on routine work with Harvey. In one case, lawyers used Harvey to model litigation strategies by comparing their case with historical rulings — enhancing accuracy and preparedness.

“Once you’ve worked with it, you can’t imagine going back,” says Sulzer. “It’s a different world — faster, better, more creative.”

A Human-Centered Legal Function

Beyond productivity, Harvey is reshaping how The Adecco Group’s lawyers see their roles. “Harvey helps create space for the human elements of lawyering,” says Sulzer. “Empathy, creativity, and connection — those are the qualities that will define the lawyers of the future.”

As tasks become more automated, The Adecco Group’s lawyers are focusing more on business partnership, strategic advice, and wellbeing — both mental and professional. “It’s not just about efficiency,” adds Vosskamp. “It’s about allowing people to do more meaningful work — and to do it with joy.”

The Adecco Group’s Legal & Compliance team is continuing its transformation journey — scaling Harvey to new regions and embedding it deeper into workflows, from contract risk analysis to policy simplification.

“Harvey is helping us reinvest in our people — creating a more strategic, empathetic, and empowered legal team ready for the future,” says Vosskamp.

“Our aspiration is to create the legal department of the future, and AI will play a big part in that,” adds Sulzer. “This is only the beginning. Harvey is helping us redefine what it means to be efficient — and, ultimately, what it means to be human.”