Derek was determined to show the client that he could make the most of technological advancements
A majority of respondents in The RollOnFriday In-House Lawyer Survey 2026 have predicted they will send fewer instructions to law firms over the next two years due to their increased use of AI.
“There is such a big push on AI,” said an in-house lawyer in finance, while a GC in banking said “we will use external counsel for fewer and fewer things because modern tools (hint: AI) allow us to do self-service at a fraction of the time and cost.”
“As AI tools become more and more reliable our need for external advice will shrink,” predicted an in-house lawyer in private equity.
They said they had “already seen exponential growth and improvement in the quality of our legal AI tools” and “no longer need to reach out to external advisors for advice on smaller queries”.
AI won’t completely replace private practice, they said, as external advisors “will remain important for larger transactions or disputes”. But routine work may increasingly stay in-house “in a world where passable redlines for more basic work can be produced at the click of a button”.
Respondents said they were always looking for ways to keep matters in-house as “Economic pressures means we’re always looking to cut costs, and keeping expertise and instructions in-house is a way to do that”.
“Law firms often forget that 8/10 times, we are instructing them for their PI cover, not because we can’t find the answer in-house,” said a GC in finance. “This won’t change.”
But it’s not all AI supremacy. Company growth coupled with hiring freezes would in some cases mean the volume of instructions sent to external lawyers would increase, said other respondents.
“The company is growing in all areas and the team simply isn’t,” said an in-house lawyer in energy. “If that continues there will be a tipping point where some of the traditionally in-house matters will have to be farmed out just to get through the work”.
An in-house lawyer in finance, with a “growing team” commented: “We are always hiring but it is hard to find the lawyers who want to come in-house for in-house prices – particularly for the LevFin/Funds/Private Credit roles.”
“Our small team is already harnessing AI but the scope of worldwide growth means additional lawyers will be taken on,” said an in-house lawyer in the insurance sector.
Some respondents echoed the view ROF has encountered in private practice – that no-one quite knows how AI will impact the business. “We’re seeing productivity improvements from AI tools,” said a GC in banking, but “It’s quite uncertain at the moment, which is why we are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach, following which we can decide if growing headcount is the best way to support the business.”
Others were less impressed with AI. “We have a lot going on and unfortunately AI is still pretty useless so looks like we won’t be designated surplus to requirements and released from bondage any time soon,” said an in-house lawyer in technology.
If you’re in-house, have your say below.