AI adoption pressures the billable hour in legal work
Overview
Clio's U.K. & Ireland Legal Insights Report 2026 finds that almost 90% of U.K. and Irish legal professionals use AI. Almost 80% of the firms using AI say they can handle more work without adding resources, and about one in five widely adopting firms report difficulty meeting billable-hour targets, according to the report as cited by CNBC.
A Deloitte survey cited in the same report finds senior legal leaders expect the share of work billed by the hour to fall from 72% to 44% over the next two to three years.
Written by AI from the articles below · updated Oct 10, 2:08 AM ET
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- CNBC · TechnologyNewsAI is changing how lawyers work and pressuring the billable hour
AIClio's U.K. & Ireland Legal Insights Report 2026 found that almost 90% of legal professionals in the U.K. and Ireland use AI. Among firms using AI, almost 80% said they can handle more work without adding resources, and about one in five widely adopting firms report difficulty meeting billable-hour targets. Deloitte's survey shows senior legal leaders expect the share of work billed by the hour to fall from 72% to 44% over the next two to three years.
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