An independent group has launched the AI Adoption Index, an independent initiative aimed at providing a more accurate and holistic picture of where law firms and in-house teams really sit on the AI adoption curve, globally. The AI Adoption Index is an independent research initiative led by legal industry leaders, Tara Waters and Jana Blount.
The Index is designed around a newly defined adoption framework focusing on four key elements:
- Alignment: AI is strategically supported by leadership and aligned with the organisation’s goals for its business, people and clients
- Access & awareness: The organisation ensures its people have access to, and awareness of, available AI tools and how to use them
- Ability & enablement: Support and incentivisation is provided to enable the secure and effective use of AI in the workplace, and to build new skillsets and mindsets
- Augmentation: New value is being created and measured for organisations, their people and their clients
Key to this new framework is the premise that true adoption requires much more than tool deployment, and that achieving wide-scale usage and benefits realisation in any organisation will necessarily take considerable time and focused effort in order to achieve cultural change.
While other industry studies already provide rich data covering sentiment, intention, use cases and individual tool deployment, few look at the question of adoption from multiple perspectives or segments and almost none are built upon a defined framework for adoption.
The Index creators hope this holistic approach will create a more accurate and multi-dimensional picture of AI adoption as it currently stands. This will be achieved through three tailored surveys open to all law firms, in-house legal teams, and individual legal professionals globally. By having separate surveys, the effect and impact of adoption measures being taken by organisations can be correlated against the experiences of legal professionals.
It is expected that the first survey results will be made available during June 2025 at https://www.AiAdoptionIndex.com. The AI Adoption Index will remain public and free for all to participate and access. The survey data will be refreshed annually to enable industry participants to track the trajectory of AI adoption over time.
How to Participate
Law firms, legal teams and legal professionals should complete the survey relevant to their role:
- Law firm representative: https://forms.office.com/r/CMx4y2xUG6
- In-house legal department representative: https://forms.office.com/r/pGue58B8Kf
- Individual legal professionals: https://forms.office.com/r/qvjPfD5EkD
It is requested that a single entry be made for each organisation, whereas multiple individuals from each are welcome to respond to the legal professionals survey.
All responses will be strictly anonymised and reported in appropriate segments, such as by firm size, in-house team industry, and geography, to allow for organisations to benchmark themselves among relevant global and local cohorts.
Submissions are open until 31 May 2025.
