AI pushes law firms to rethink billing and workflows

Olivier Chaduteau, a Paris-based consultant who runs an AI-focused advisory firm, says law firms must change how they operate as AI takes on routine legal tasks. He says firms need to rewrite workflows, retrain lawyers on existing client matters, set standards for AI use and define where human review is required.

Chaduteau outlined a three-stage adoption pattern. At first many lawyers dismissed AI as irrelevant to expert practice. Next, organisations bought licences for large language models or legal AI tools largely to signal activity. He said the sector has now entered a phase that requires operational change.

To integrate AI at scale, Chaduteau recommended focusing on change management, choosing operating models and revising business models. He described those decisions as internal and political, and more complex than selecting a vendor.

AI is reducing time spent on drafting, research and document review. Chaduteau said that weakens the link between a lawyer’s billed hours and firm revenue. Firms can use AI inside existing hourly or cost-plus billing to improve margins, or redesign services and prices to reflect faster, AI-enabled delivery.

“Clients will eventually force the issue,” Chaduteau predicted.

Corporate legal departments are already asking outside counsel to explain how they use AI. Requests include which tasks are supported by AI, what human checks are in place, how client confidentiality is protected and what measurable effects AI has on speed and quality of service.

Chaduteau noted that large firms are moving from symbolic adoption to practice-level uses and differing supervisory models. He recommended disciplined implementation, client-facing proof of value, careful handling of confidentiality and data sovereignty, and training to align lawyer skills with new workflows.

He added that firms should set clear internal standards for AI use and communicate transparently with clients about the role and limits of AI in delivered work.