Ironclad Report Finds 99% of Lawyers Trust Using AI As Their Roles Expand

96% of respondents agree their organization now expects more from the legal function than it did two years ago

Using AI in legal helps teams review contracts and make decisions faster, while reducing risk and money spent on outside counsel

SAN FRANCISCO, May 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ironclad, the AI contracting company accelerating business with every contract, today announced its third-annual State of AI in Legal Report. Surveying more than 800 legal professionals across in-house teams and law firms, the report shows how lawyers are using AI and how the technology is changing their roles.

The rapid growth and adoption of AI have dialed up the pressure on workers. Legal teams are focused on protecting their companies against risk. However, as lawyers' workloads increase, more are trusting AI tools to keep up, setting aside their initial concerns about the technology's risks. AI is also helping legal teams expand their skill sets and knowledge, allowing them to work on projects and problems outside of the scope of their traditional roles. These findings are a microcosm of broader workplace trends, offering a unique perspective to explore how AI is reshaping roles and responsibilities across industries.

"Legal teams today are facing pressure to do more, while working faster with smaller teams," said Jasmine Singh, General Counsel at Ironclad. "AI is helping lawyers focus on strategic work, drive value for their business, and model best practices for how the technology can be used by company leadership and other departments."

Key new findings illustrate how that shift is playing out in practice:

Confidence and optimism about using AI grows:

• 92% of respondents are using AI for legal work, up from 69% in 2025.
• 94% of respondents that use AI for legal work use it for contract-specific tasks.
• 92% say the benefits of using AI for legal purposes outweigh the risks, up from 59% in 2025.
• 65% believe AI will create more job opportunities, up from 46% in 2025.

AI raises expectations and expands the role of legal teams:

• 96% of respondents agree their organization now expects more from the legal function than it did two years ago.
• 95% say AI has made them more valuable beyond their legal expertise.
• 89% report spending more time on complex, strategic tasks since adopting AI.

Businesses see value from using AI but need greater accountability:

• 97% of those who use AI for legal work reported at least one measurable business outcome: faster response times to business stakeholders (52%), faster contract turnaround times (50%), and reductions in outside counsel spend (42%).
• 96% of respondents agree they would use AI more extensively in legal work if accountability for errors were more clearly defined.
• 82% rate legal's AI adoption as ahead of other functions at their organizations.

Additional Resources

Click here to download the full 2026 State of AI in Legal Report. Register for our upcoming virtual roundtable on May 28 at 10 AM PT. We'll dig into the report's findings with legal operations pioneer Mary O'Carroll, Irene Liu of Hypergrowth GC and Stanford Law School, John LaBarre of Harvey, and Jasmine Singh of Ironclad.

About Ironclad

Ironclad is the AI contracting platform that accelerates business with every contract. Contracts are easy and insightful, and agents push work forward with you in control. Whether buying or selling, Ironclad unifies the entire contract lifecycle on one intelligent platform, giving leaders the visibility they need to move faster and make better decisions. Ironclad is trusted by leading companies like Associated Press, Canva, Databricks, L'Oréal, and Notion, recognized by Forrester, Gartner, and IDC as a category leader, and backed by Accel, Sequoia, Y Combinator, BOND, and Franklin Templeton. For more information, visit https://ironcladapp.com/.

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SOURCE Ironclad Inc.